The Ludicrous Shinobi
by InfiniteKlout
Summary: In an alternate Universe, Kakarrot was sent to a very different Earth (namely the Naruto-verses Earth). Circumstances are different, and new adventures created by the ripple effect of a Saiyan in the world of the Shinobi has yet to be ventured. What's been changed from the original timeline? There's only one obvious way to find out. DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING FROM DBZ NOR NARUTO!
1. The Arrival of Kakarrot

**For all of those people who've wanted to see my original story again... then here it is!**

This will be my second attempt at my first DBZ/Naruto (the original) story and let me just address some things that I've made changes to:

 **WARNING: THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF CHARACTER DEATH, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

We all know how much stronger DBZ characters are than Naruto characters, so I'll have to balance it out with Goku being a kid. Even still, Goku will be stronger than most shinboi by the time he reaches the first tournament point in DB. So I'll make the Naruto characters somewhat stronger to compensate, but not unrealistically. Goku will have advantages and disadvantages with being a ki-user in comparison to chakra-users making it a bit more fair. And extreme Genjutsu such as **Tsukuyomi** will only effect the Saiyan, anything that's Jonin-level and under won't. Goku won't learn chakra and Naruto will never learn ki to keep the difference of character styles. Some characters will be allowed to reach their full potential such as Lee and Kakashi and others to compensate for DB characters power scaling.

Now onto the world I'll be creating, well it'll be in Naruto but with DBZ elements. For starters, the technology in Naruto will be more advanced but not to the point of flying cars. Vehicles will only be seen in pure civilian cities, not shinobi villages. Capsule Corporation will be there, but in a civilian city only, like in Naruto Gaiden. The Dragon-balls will be there, but heavily restricted in use. For starters, they won't be able to resurrect anyone due to the laws of Naruto. Two, one can't become omnipotent or gain additional power(ups). And one can't achieve immortality, only eternal life. However, everything else is fair game. The Red Ribbon army will be a thing as well, as that leaves the Naruto-verse with new experiences.

Onto the explanation of Goku's character, there are bound to be major differences. Firstly, Goku never bumped his head so he's bound to be more violent. He'll still have a warm-heart but he won't be afraid to do what needed to be done, even if it meant ending a persons life. He'll be smarter due to that very reason, but he won't be too out of character, yet he won't be anywhere near pure of heart like in DBZ.

To make this story interesting, I've decided to implement powerful villains and obstacle or Goku and his teammates. I've always wondered why out of all the thousands upon thousands of shinobi in the world, only a few dozen are actually noteworthy in the story. With all the talent out there in the world, you would think that hundreds of shinobi would emerge as "powerful" or "noteworthy".

Now onto the characters, certain DB/Z characters will make an appearance if I can fit them in. However, some of them won't make an appearance. Cell will definitely make an appearance as he'll be the final villain along with the Akatsuki in the story. The reason for choosing him is due to his interesting genetic makeup of other characters, and with that it would make him into the ultimate warrior; nigh impossible to defeat.

 **Character pairings ARE SET N'STONE** , and if you don't like them then what are you wasting your time for?! Some of the pairings **WON'T** be canon and we'll been seen as exotic, but they will make sense for the circumstances I create. No **Harems, Yuri or Yaoi** in this story whatsoever.

Lastly, onto the power-scaling. Seeing that it took Goku 25 years to reach SSJ, I'll make it shorter. Instead of gaining Super Saiyan with a huge base power along with the pain of loss, I'll just have it be achieved at a certain level of power with the right circumstances. Zenkai boosts will also be a factor in this, as that's what makes the Saiyans so special. Naruto will have a much better healing factor, but Goku will be the one to truly receive the benefits of a fierce battle. His base-form will be at least Kage-level at the end of the story. In his most powerful form (whatever that may be), he'll be the strongest hero with So6P mode Naruto and Sasuke right behind him. He won't be too OP, UP or god-like in this story. The only ones that shall keep up with him in the end will be Naruto, Sasuke, Rock Lee (surprising isn't it), and certain villains.

That's all and I hope you all give this story a chance. Now lets get on with it already:

 _Chapter 1: Son Goku_

* * *

The mountains of Paozu were some of the best places for meditation. An older man sat down on the cliff with his eyes closed, simply becoming one with nature; breathing calmly, and getting rid of the troubles on his mind.

He continued his deep meditation, letting his energy flow freely.

Behind him, there was a small hut, which he identified with as a home. He was walking to go inside, but as he was about to slide open the door; he heard a loud crash. He turned around, seeing that not too far from his house; there was a giant plume of smoke that could probably be seen from the village. It was followed by the appearance of a ki signature he couldn't identify. It seemed the newcomer would be the only other ki user besides Master Roshi and himself in the world.

As an elder martial artist of Konohagakure, it was his job to go and investigate. He went to the edge of the cliff and placed his hands on his hip, and quietly sighed. The man felt other shinobi already moving quickly toward the scene, but he was lucky enough to be the closest to the crash site. Running, he quickly

He now turned his attention to the metal pod. The man was more than confused as to what was going on. It was silver, with a small red-ish window in the front of it. He walked up to it and tapped it with his foot gently, and surprisingly it opened.

His eyes widened behind and he gasped once he saw what was on the inside. He took a step closer to get a better look.

It was a baby! It was no normal baby, but a baby nonetheless. It cried and held its arms out for help like any other child, and the man had no choice but to help the baby out of the pod.

It was a boy, and the man found that out the hard way because he peed directly on his face. The baby started laughing and the man couldn't even be mad. He ran a hand through the boy's spiky black hair and almost smiled, "Hey there kid," he greeted the child.

His eyes widened once he realized that the ki belonged to the child, "Wow, you're different."

Through all this he didn't notice that a tail wrapped around his arm while he held the child, "You're a weird one too aren't you!" He laughed a bit to himself, before tickling the kid on his stomach and looking past everything weird about him, understanding he was still a baby. "My name is Gohan! What's yours?"

He knew he wouldn't be getting any real response, just a confused stare. Gohan still smiled, "I'll call you … Goku," He said as he looked at the boy's tail, "It seems fitting anyway." The baby, now known as Goku, giggled with glee and happiness.

 **- _Five Years Later_ -**

Gohan ducked as the young boy in front of him threw another punch at his head. "Not quite strong enough to hit me yet Goku," he told the boy as he sent a punch at the boy. Goku deftly dodged the attack and countered with a round house kick.

Gohan caught the boy's leg and used Goku's own momentum to send the boy flying off into the bushes.

The Saiyan arose from the bushes and dusted off his blue martial arts uniform. "No fair," the boy said. "I can't hit you."

"You've only been training with me for a year now," Gohan replied. "You'll improve with time. And I've been training my whole life. You can't expect to get results like that over night."

"Grandpa," Goku started. "Is everyone as strong as you are?"

"No," Gohan replied. "Many people aren't even as strong as you are now, only Shinobi's. I've been studying martial arts for my entire life to gain the amount of strength that I have. I'm still not the strongest in the world even now. But don't be discouraged that you're not winning. It takes time to be the best but eventually I know that you will surpass me."

"Really?!" The child asked, excitement manifesting on the boy. The elderly man chuckled, nodding in confirmation.

And just like that, the day had gone by in the blink of an eye, and Goku didn't go to bed, seeing the moon. "Man the moon sure is pretty tonight. I wonder why Grandpa never let me stay up to see it when it was full like this," the boy said to himself.

Before the words were out of his mouth, Goku lurched back uncontrollably as his body began to spasm. His eyes turned bright red and fangs soon grew from his mouth. The front of the boy's face began to pull outward into a long snout. Brown hair grew all over Goku's body as his clothes were ripped to shreds by his rapidly growing body. Within seconds Goku's transformation to his Oozaru form was complete.

That would be the turning point in the life of Son Goku.

 _ **-With Hiruzen-**_

 _'This is definitely not good.'_

"Send for reinforcements!" Hiruzen called to his hidden ANBU bodyguards, "We can't let that beast get any closer to the village than it already is!" The old man commanded as he leaped to the side to avoid a crushing stomp from the massive beast of an ape in front of him.

It was completely savage, wild, unruly, any word would work to describe the vile beast. Stamping and stomping on a rampage, even it's roars were terrifying; every time the creature opened its mouth to scream it would release a monstrous beam of what appeared to be velvet colored energy.

The destruction the small girl turned ape was dealing to the surrounding forest was almost as bad as if the Kyuubi had returned. The blasts it was releasing from its mouth were traveling incredible distances before exploding, obliterating the environment upon each impact.

It was surprisingly fast for its size as well, causing the Sandaime Hokage to keep moving, lest he suffer a strike from the large creature.

He had to do something. Going through a certain number of hand-seals as the creature continued in its efforts to strike him down, the Hokage released a massive torrential flame from his mouth that formed into a giant dragon before the ape turned toward him and fired a beam of yellow energy from its mouth.

The energy met with the jutsu and for the most part cut completely through it before dissipating. Some of the flame managed to splash onto the beast, but all that did was further enrage the creature as it patted the fur that was on fire to extinguish the flames before attacking the old man once again.

With the size, durability and power of the beast, all the Hokage could manage to do before he further analyzed his combatant was stay alive. There had to be some weakness to this abomination. It didn't take long for reinforcements to arrive to try and take down the rampaging monster. But even then they were having problems.

Its tail was sweeping around and taking out any of the shinobi that were trying to attack from behind. The speed with which it moved and the power with which it struck was tremendous and jutsu seemed to be having minimal effect. As the Hokage threw as many techniques as he could at it, but none of them were working too well much to his chagrin.

The durability of the creature would have been very impressive if it hadn't been trying to kill them. Energy beams that were almost continuously being shot from its mouth weren't doing the ANBU any favors, and while most of them wanted to be on the offensive there were a number that simply couldn't get a chance to attack.

It very much felt like the Kyuubi all over again.

Hiruzen could only watch in horror. A thing of terror, and now he understood the fear and anger of the people of the village. Who knew if Naruto would one day explode just like this? Releasing a monster upon them all? But just because he understood what they felt didn't mean he felt it was justified. They were still wrong because Naruto was still just a innocent boy thus far.

He had absolutely no clue about just what the hell this gargantuan biju-sized beast was.

Eventually, it started to look like Konohagakure's forces were starting to get the upper-hand on the creature. While he didn't think too many of the ANBU had been killed thanks to their evasive techniques, a large number were injured, having taken glancing blows from the limbs or tail of the giant beast.

The ground shook with every step it took. They needed to bring it down soon. Because while they were getting the upper-hand, they were going to start running out of reinforcements if he didn't send for more. He didn't need more bloodshed.

To be frankly honest, Kakashi had had enough of this ungodly ape and its tail, which seemed to have a mind of its own. They needed a way to truly slow down the beast, and hopefully taking away its tail would do the trick. Every time he'd gotten close to inflicting any sort of damage to the body of the beast, the tail would swing in from nowhere and either knock him away or impede his movement forward.

Going through a number of hand-seals in preparation for his attack, he drew his Anbu blade once again, channeling Raiton-chakra into it before charging forward, slashing at the air in front of him faster than the normal eye could see.

When he appeared on the other side of the ape, seriousness in his lone eye, it had looked as if he'd only struck once. Just as Hiruzen started formulating a coordinated all-out assault on the beast, trying to think of something that would help them finish the fight, something strange happened.

The tail dropped to the ground. One less asset for the beast to use in its fight, right? The Hokage could only marvel at the sight of the beast roaring as it shrank to the size of the small boy again, who fell to his knees, his eyes going empty as he dropped the rest of the way to the ground.

Every ANBU saw their chance to eviscerate the threat at hand. And the Hokage knew in that instance that he couldn't let what was about to transpire come to pass.

"STOP!" Hiruzen cried. Every ANBU froze in place, some just slight movements from ending the life of the small boy.

He understood how the people felt about Naruto, but that didn't mean he thought that was right.

 _'This boy is just like Naruto, and it appears his tail is the source of this monstrous creature within him,'_ Sarutobi thought as he peered over at the tail that had also shrunk back to size. ' _He must be that kid that came from that...that...space-pod five years ago! Yeah, that thing that Gohan-san had reported. It's the only explanation, as we know he's not a Jinchuuriki and nobody else on the planet can do that.'_

"But Hokage-sa…"

"No buts! This boy is under my protection and therefore the protection of Konoha. I have a feeling that without his tail he isn't a threat to anyone. I'll have someone keep an eye on her, but if I find out he was 'dealt' with I will find the people responsible and I will execute them on the spot!" Realizing that some of the ANBU present were still unconvinced he got their attention again, "LOOK AT HIM! HE'S JUST A DAMN CHILD," the young boy was curled up naked on the ground as he slept.

"A child that can turn into a giant ape that shoots energy from its mouth and whose stomps caused mini-earthquakes," one of the ANBU spoke up form the group.

"I'm not going to end the life of a small child from a foreign land because of a hidden ability he has. A hidden ability I'm quite sure we've dealt with."

"Do you think he's a Jinchuuriki?" Another ANBU spoke up, "There's never been a mention of an ape bijuu with only one tail."

"No," the Hokage said firmly, "he's not a Jinchuuriki. I have no clue what he is."

"And you don't think he'll be a threat again?" Another ANBU spoke up skeptically.

"No, the moment Hound cut off his tail he began changing back. Like I said, it would appear this power manifests itself from within the tail somehow. As long as he doesn't have one he shouldn't be a threat."

It was clear from the grumbling within the group that a number of the ANBU were extremely skeptical of the decision of the Hokage. However, he was the Hokage for a reason, therefore they couldn't do anything about it.

"You're dismissed," Sarutobi said, "Make sure to seek treatment if you are wounded, I'll handle the boy."

With that the shinobi disappeared in swirls of leaves, some of the healthier helping the injured.

When they were all gone, Kakashi stepped out from the shadows.

"You really think this boy isn't a potential threat?"

"Right now I don't know Kakashi, but potential yes. But look at him. I can't just abandon him and I can't kill him, he's too similar to Naruto in this regard."

"We know nothing of the repercussion of sparing his life in the future. I really hope that bleeding heart of yours doesn't get us all killed one day Hokage-sama."

"So do I Kakashi, so do I." After picking up the small naked child the two of them disappeared.

 **- _In The Aftermath_ -**

The Sandaime looked at the five-year old with apprehension. With sheer luck he had been able to distract the Oozaru with his monkey summons to allow Kakashi a chance to cut the apes tail off. It had succeeded, turning the great ape back into the five-year old he is. After breaching the village walls which were still in the process of rehabilitation from the Kyuubi like nothing, and then destroying a whole sector of village.

Many were in outrage, ordering for the boy's execution. However, the Sandaime being the kind man as always, protected the boy from the council and made the debacle an SS-ranked secret.

Having a Yamanaka check his memories didn't help, as they were blank. The strange abilities the great ape seemed to have placed him on-par with the Kyuubi. It seemed the gaki had an undiscovered Kekkei Genkai.

The brat remained an enigma to him even to this moment, and he examined him. He seemed below-average in height and weight compared to everyone else his age.

To any onlooker, many would think he was the Yonbi, Son Goku in full transformation. However, the boy didn't have a seal mark anywhere on his body and possessed a tail. Just what was he? He'd have to talk to Roshi-sama about this. He had known about the boy prior, but not much.

The boy's eyes groggily slid open while the Hokage mused to himself, and he groaned. "W-what happened?" The boy said, with a yawn and half-opened eyes. He then tried to move his furry appendage, but failed to even feel movement. "Where's my tail?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped towards the gaki, tossing him a gi similar to the one he had prior to the transformation. The only difference were that the pants were black instead to the blue hue they once were. "Put these on. I'll explain everything afterwards," Hiruzen stated.

The Saiyan quickly changed into his new gi, awaiting the Sandaimes explanation. Hiruzen dropped his cigar on the floor, spewing smoke from his mouth and looking towards the boy. "So, as you know, your tail is missing. The reasons...are rather complicated. Transforming into some kind of Great Ape, you went on a rampage towards the village and breached it, ravaging it in fury. To stop you, we had to cut off your tail. By the way, what's your name?"

"Son Goku," Goku muttered solemnly, feeling the guilt of damaging the village.

"I see," Hiruzen mused, thinking it ironic to the event that took place the night prior. "I now hereby declare what I just told you to be classified as an SS-ranked secret near the level of the Kyuubi's attack. You're the only one allowed to tell the secret other than myself to anyone who you deem trustworthy. Those that break those rules will be executed without hesitation, Goku-san. Understand?"

"H-hai," Goku stated hesitantly, responsibility having never been truly dawned on him. "Where's Gohan-ojiisan?!" The boy inquired with nothing but curiosity pegged into his voice. The Hokage looked downwards, dreading at the question being asked. What will the boy's reaction be?

Clearing his breath with a sigh, Hiruzen answered. "He died when you began your rampage after your initial transformation into the Great Ape. Before he died however, he left me instructions just encase he passed of old age."

The boy had tears pour down his face, guilt rolling down his spine, shaking him to the core. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger at himself, and he cleared his eyes of liquid. "T-then what do I do?"

Hiruzen sighed, reading his directions. "You're to live in this village for six years and live with Roshi for the one year after that. When you return you'll enroll at the Academy once more and become a Genin. Understood?"

Goku nodded, not saying a word. "Good. I'll arrange you an apartment for yourself and enroll you into the academy once you turn six. Dismissed." Nodding, the Saiyan strode out of the room, a lot on his young five-year old mind.

 _ **-18 Hours After the Meeting-**_

"Hey wake up sleepy head!" Naruto said as he slapped the boy upside the head to get him up. The orphanage generally had a myriad of chores to be done and the blonde would be damned if he had to do some by himself when this new kid could help him.

Gohan groaned as he woke up, his head pounding. He wasn't sure what had happened last night or where he was, but there was a loud blue eyed blonde kid around his age yelling at him for some reason.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the orphanage. What's your name?!"

"Son Goku," he said, pointing to himself.

The blond pointed to himself as well, "Uzumaki Naruto!" he said exuberantly.

Goku was then dragged from the bed by his hand and taken from the room in a rush.

"We've got a lot to do today!" Naruto said loudly as he dragged his new friend through the orphanage.

Goku had no idea where he was, but the blonde that had woken him up seemed friendly enough.

The blonde kept looking over and smiling at him as they went about doing chores, which Goku didn't mind. He had no problem with the boy or the chores and he had a feeling that if they didn't do what they were told the stern woman that he saw patrolling the large house would definitely have something to say about it.

Even with all his concentration focused on doing the chores and trying to be happy about it he still couldn't prevent the breakdown that hit him like a truck halfway through the morning as they were doing dishes. He had killed his grandfather on an accident in a form he had no control over, but still.

And when it rained, the gloomy mood settled in.

' _Screw this_ ,' he thought as he grabbed his new friend's hand and sneaked away _._ The kid was lucky he was mourning silently, he knew that bitch wasn't a fan of soppy kids. Even ones recently orphaned like this one, the insensitive cow. The amount of crap he had to put up with from her for no particular reason was ridiculous, he didn't know why he didn't just run away sometimes.

Emerging from the house, his companion in tow, Naruto quickly made his way to one of his favorite places within the village. Making their way a fair distance from the orphanage and climbing the winding stairs carved into a cliff they soon arrived at the top of the Hokage monument.

The sun was just beginning to properly rise into the sky and as it bathed the village in golden light Naruto couldn't help but smile. He was going to be Hokage someday and this village would be his. Everyone would recognize him for the great man he was!

He noticed a lack of sadness and looking over to find that Goku himself was captivated by the view the lookout offered.

Naruto felt for the guy. He barely knew him but he seemed nice enough. And the fact that he was now in the orphanage meant that something horrible must have happened to his guardian. No wonder he was sad, but concealing his turmoil.

He was lost and alone, just like Naruto was alone. But they didn't have to be alone any longer. They had each other.

 _ **-The Next Day-**_

Naruto spent the rest of the day exploring the village with Goku, using the adventure to try and keep him busy. The boy marveled at everything, from the stores, to the variety of people, especially the ones with funny lavender eyes they saw. He obviously didn't get out very much where he was from.

It was late in the night when the two young boys returned to the orphanage, scolding words thrown at them from the headmistress. She hated that little blonde and if that black haired kid was anything like Naruto she was going to hate him too. Goku obviously didn't care, and Naruto could give two shits about her.

But no, she couldn't do anything about them, not even throw them out; Hokage's orders. She had to put up with having the Kyuubi in her orphanage and some strange child the old man had just dropped in a bed last night. And neither of them felt the need to finish their chores!

Both of them scuttled back to their beds as fast as possible, trying not to wake the other children. Naruto didn't need scorn from them either. For some reason none of them liked him anyway. He wondered why?

 _ **-With Hiruzen-**_

"So do you mean to tell us what that booming sound was last night?" One of the civilians piped up from their section of the table.

Hiruzen had just concluded the first half of the meeting, addressing everything that was of concern to the civilians. This was definitely not something he was going to share with everyone.

"If you would please excuse us."

"Excuse you? What is the meaning of this Hokage-sama!"

"There are some things that must not be shared with the public, and to put it bluntly I do not trust you. There are very few people I would trust this information to in actuality but I must reveal the secret to some. The situation has been handled and the source of last night's disturbance has been dealt with. Now you will excuse us," the Hokage said more sternly, anger in his eyes at their insolence. He was the Hokage, which put him above everyone else in the village.

The civilians got up grumbling and left the meeting room. Only clan heads, the high-ranking Jounin, the two elders and Danzou remained in the room, along with the Hokage's hidden bodyguards.

"Cat, before we proceed did you inform the ANBU that were present last night of this meeting?"

The ANBU stepped from the shadows and nodded.

"Good, fetch them now, this involves them as well."

Danzou wasn't exactly happy that this was being drawn out. And why were ANBU allowed to hear what was said. He understood that they had been involved in subduing the beast-child, but this didn't have to involve them. Unless he was giving a command or something of those sorts.

He would just have to wait and see what his sentimental friend had in store, and what exactly he planned to share with them.

After all the ANBU had filed in to the room, standing at the back away from the table the Hokage spoke. "As you all know, the village came close to being damaged heavily under a rampage last night. If it were not for all of your efforts, especially yours Hound," the Hokage said, turning his head toward Kakashi, "there would have been a major loss of life for sure."

"What was the threat?" Fugaku Uchiha spoke up. As the head of the police force he needed to know about threats.

"I was getting to that," Hiruzen said, annoyed at the interruption, "We came under attack from a monster that was handily dealt with."

"What are you not telling us father?" Asuma said from his position within the Jounin.

The old man sighed. "The vile monster was a child… a child I found within the forest while investigating a disturbance with my bodyguards. He turned into the monster during the night of the full moon that caused the destruction that you no doubt all heard and will see if you venture a few miles out from the main gate. I called for ANBU reinforcements, which arrived whilst I kept the monster busy and they all helped me deal with the problem, this is why they have been allowed to hear what I have to say."

"You say a child turned into a monster? What did you do with this child? Is it dead?" Homura the elder councilman spoke up.

"No," the Hokage said to only a few shocked faces. Most of the people in the room knew what kind of man the Hokage was. He'd spare a life if he could. It was the reason Orochimaru was still at large, the biggest threat of the village as of right now.

"Then what became of him," Homura asked once again.

This time Danzou was interested. He would have had one of his ANBU tail the Hokage but if he'd been caught then there would be investigations. And investigations weren't the greatest way to keep a covert operation covert.

"I have put him in the orphanage," the Hokage said. Now people weren't exactly happy.

"A child that was a threat to the entire village and you just put him in an orphanage!" Koharu exclaimed.

"Sounds rather familiar doesn't it?" Danzou added slyly, getting a stern look from the old man in charge.

"I'll not have any of that! He is just a child and his monstrous transformation has been dealt with thanks to Hound, although I believe he performed the attack unknowing that the tail of the beast was the source of it's power."

"Tail? Beast? So we are dealing with a Jinchuuriki?" Gai wondered what particular beast it was if that was the case.

"No, he's not a Jinchuuriki, as far as I can tell, and like I said, I think it is in our best interests to let her live in Konoha. I know not where he is from, but I know that he is alone after killing Gohan-san." Now that caused many people to be shocked, THE Gohan? The one trained by the legendary Muten Roshi?

"Yes," Danzou spoke up from next to the elders, "For once I agree, it would be best to keep him under surveillance and alive. He may be useful in the future, and if we were to turn him out, another village may discover whatever power is hidden within him and use it against us."

Hiruzen's expression darkened, it was very rare that Danzou ever agreed with him.

"Yes, and on a final note do not inform anyone of this. If people ask what the disturbance was and questions are being asked, tell them that we were under attack from a rogue force and that the ANBU Hound was responsible for bringing them to justice. It is better that they focus on a hero within the ranks than a potential but unlikely threat within their midst. The punishment for this will be the same as the punishment for speaking of the nature of Naruto's secret."

One of the ANBU in the ranks at the back of the room, wearing a dog mask, looked to move to be in a position to speak when the Hokage finished. "My decision is final, there will be no discussion nor debate," he said firmly. "The boy is not to be harmed and she will be watched. The fact that he and Naruto were observed getting along today will make observation easier."

"Now, I'd like to speak with you three," Hiruzen looked over at the three elder council members as he said this, "Kakashi, Ibiki, Shikaku and Inoichi remain behind also. Everyone else, you are dismissed."

The rest of the high-ranking jounin eyed Kakashi curiously, but knew not to make a fuss. They would get their answers if the Hokage deemed it necessary. It didn't mean they weren't a little annoyed though.

Naturally the Hokage's detail remained behind also.

"Okay, to get to the really important information. I called the main meeting so that none of the ANBU made a move against the boy or revealed his true nature to the public. Now we must discuss the true nature of the child. What have you been able to determine from the old spacecraft, Ibiki, Inoichi?"

"The thing was pretty beaten up when we brought it in, and it doesn't seem to be able to power-up. Although it might just be because we don't know how. The technology involved is amazing, vastly ahead of our worlds. If we can reverse engineer even half of the tech from this thing we'll be well off, that's for sure." Ibiki said, the scars on his face moving animatedly as he spoke in the low light.

"What craft?" Danzou had heard nothing of a craft from his operative. This was definitely news to him.

"I said I did not know where the boy was from because he is from the stars. I have no idea how but he fell from the sky five years ago in a craft that seemingly allows safe travel between celestial objects. How, I do not know. But what it means is that we aren't as alone as we thought."

Everyone who wasn't in the know, meaning the three elders and Shikaku, were in shock.

"Th-the implications," Homaru stuttered out.

"Yes we know," Kakashi said, "the question though is what we are going to do with this information."

"The people in this room are the only people that know of the nature of the boy and the craft. Everyone else that is working on the craft don't know the relationship it had with the boy and the ANBU that fought him don't know of the craft either. It was buried under rubble and covered in moss by the time they arrived," the Hokage explained,."What is worrisome is that a small child like him could not come up with technology like that. So there are others. We are not alone and who knows how powerful some of the beings out there are?"

Shikaku was still sitting stunned in silence as is mind ticked away at trying to comprehend the possibilities and implications. This was mind-boggling.

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi spoke softly, getting the attention of everyone in the room, "There's something else. We found a small spherical object inside the house of Gohan-sama's, a golden orb with four red stars on it. Preliminary investigations show that it contains extremely immense power, easily enough to make a Biju look like an ant in comparison. We are unsure of just how to access this power though. It may not be possible."

"That is fine," the Hokage said, not one to miss the greedy look that slipped across Danzou's face for just a second. "For now we must focus on keeping the boy safe until he can tell us his story and continue trying to obtain information and technology from the craft. As long as this enormous power is contained and isn't a threat, it shall not be our top priority."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," they responded, which ended the meeting right then and there.


	2. A Saiyan's Resolve

_Chapter 2: A Saiyans Resolve_

* * *

"You were right to have me send a shadow clone to the meeting Hokage-sama. It wasn't long after the ANBU left the meeting that one of them made an attempt on the girl's life," Yugao said, casting the mask on desk in front of her.

"The body?"

"Disposed of accordingly."

"Good. This however is troubling. To think that an assassination attempt would occur so soon. Hmmmm, I'll be reassigning your duties Cat. From this day onward you will be one of the two prime observers and protectors of Goku and Naruto. It might do the village citizens good to see a notorious Anbu other than Hound out and about."

"I thought we weren't meant to be seen?"

"It wouldn't hurt to make an appearance or two," The old man said with a somber smile.

"And my partner is?" Yugao queried, she didn't want to be working with someone stiff.

"You will be working with Hatake Kakashi of course, and as the orphans may not always be together at all times, you'll need more manpower. I'll give you a list of the shinobi I deem trustworthy enough for this protection detail and you two can discuss whom you want on the team. I have a feeling that keeping this boy alive is of the utmost importance. He's could possibly be a potential risk to the village, but other visitors from the stars could be a risk to our entire world. This boy could be a key to stopping such threats should they ever come. If there was ever a mission you don't want to fail, it is this one."

"Hai Hokage-sama," Yugao said before disappearing in a **Shunshin** , looking for the infamous Kakashi of the Sharingan to discuss the mission. He'd no doubt be tailing the children right about now.

 _ **-With Goku and Naruto-**_

Goku practiced his martial arts while Naruto was swinging by himself, feeling alone. It seemed the boys would have another peaceful day in the village known as Konoha. If only it could remain that simple for once...

It wasn't long before two other boys walked over to them. They were twice their age and noticeably taller. Both of them had brown hair, one with blue eyes and the other with brown. The brown-eyed boy was wearing a blue collared shirt and white shorts while the blue eyed boy was wearing a black tee and long blue pants. Both of them were sneering down at the boys in front of them.

"Hey," the blue eyed one said to his counterpart, "I wonder if we can make these two brats cry like we did that white-eyed freak,"

"Hahaha yeah, I'd like to see this redhead and his little lapdog cry like that little bitch," He took a step forward as he said this and pointed at Naruto. "Especially rehead here. Why can't you take a hint, the whole village hates you!"

Goku's fist clenched. He wasn't going to let them push Naruto and himself around like that. His blood boiled for a brawl, hist instincts telling him he wanted a good fight with someone for some odd reason.

"Whatever you big doofus," Naruto said as he got up from his swing, "You don't scare me!"

Naruto didn't notice the angry look in the eyes of his friend, his fists clenched..

"We'll teach you and your friend you brats!" the bully yelled.

"Shut up!" Goku shouted, the stance his Ojii-san taught him coming into play. The large brown-eyed boy pulled his fist back ready to strike out at Naruto. Goku wasn't going to let these bullies beat up him or his friend. He charged and jumped into the air, shoulder charging the teenage bully to the ground. The teen tried to kick him but the Saiyan took him by the legs and flung him a good five feet. "Don't mess with me or my friend!" He stated.

However, the other boy kicked him straight in the ribs, knocking him backwards, before Naruto tackled the legs out from under him, getting one good punch on his face. It didn't take much for the large boy to reverse the situation, pinning the young redhead to the ground and going to town on his face.

Goku recovered and dodged the flurry of punches the first teenager threw with practiced ease, then elbowed him in the chest. The sheer physicality of the Saiyan surprised everyone watching as the five year old pummeled his opponent. The person on the receiving ends friend, seeing Goku getting the best of his friend, abandoned Naruto and attacked Goku. The five year old Saiyan didn't register the boy's fist coming and he was clipped in the jaw, knocking him down to the ground.

"Ow! That wasn't fair!" Goku complained, shrugging off the bruise on his mouth like it never happened. The boy's hand however, retracted quickly with a bruise forming, pain being the result.

"Just what the hell are you made of, bricks?" Questioned the boy, and Goku grinned in the slight pain.

 _ **-With Cat-**_

Yugao had just managed to find and replace Kakashi, giving him a break so that he'd be fresh for when he replaced her later that night. Then she saw the ensuing fight break out. This was going to be so much easier when they had a proper team. Due to the nature of this new arrival the Hokage had decided to rebuild the detail from scratch, starting with Yugao and Kakashi. The stakes were higher now, they didn't know what would happen if they were to fail.

When it was clear to Yugao that the young orphans weren't going to get the better of the bullies, she jumped into the park, her mask covering her features.

She was actually impressed with the way the little black haired kid had come to the defense of Naruto. When he wasn't a raging ape she had to admit that he was either pretty brave, or really stupid. But it turned out he was neither, he was just stronger than the oppositions, whom were civilian teens.

Just the appearance of an adult, let alone a shinobi, was enough to scare the older bullies away. Walking over to the bruised and beaten kids the ANBU looked down, "Are you guys alright, I was just passing through here and saw what happened."

Naruto was frankly embarrassed that he'd been caught getting beaten up by bullies while Goku was a little peeved the bullies left. "Aw c'mon, I wanted to keep fighting."

"Yeah, we're okay," Naruto mumbled dejectedly, wiping his bloodied nose and nursing his arm. Goku touched at the bruise forming on his face, namely his lip. The young Saiyan then looked the newcomer up and down, noting the kick-ass porcelain mask. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, his friend cut him off.

"Who the hell are you?" Blurted out Naruto.

"The name's Cat kid, try not to get in fights with guys bigger than you, or at least get better at fighting back like the black-haired gaki. One day an adult might not be around to stop the fight," She said before turning to leave.

"Hey, I'm Son Goku, not some gaki!" The Saiyan stated in rebuttal, pouting. Cat chuckled inside her mask, not visible to Goku or Naruto.

"Okay Cat-san. Do you think you could help us get better at defending ourselves?" Naruto's use of the honorific san and the request for help stopped her in her tracks. She had a feeling she was going to like these two kids.

"Maybe in the future, if you graduate from the academy that is. Until then, not a chance boys." The mysterious nin said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Wow, that is so cool when they do that," Naruto said his eyes sparkling in admiration. Goku nodded in firm agreement.

Looking over at his worn and torn friend, Naruto decided they should call it a day, urging Goku to walk back to the orphanage with him. Goku really couldn't say no as he had nothing else to do but kill time, so they left, making their way to the edge of the park before Naruto turned to his new friend.

"Goku ?"

"Hai?"

"Thanks out there," the redhead said with a huge grin on his face. "Cat's right, we need to get better! If I'm gonna be the Hokage one day, I hafta get stronger. Wanna help me?"

Goku couldn't help but smile either as they walked back to the orphanage. "Heck yeah, I wanna get stronger too."

 _ **-Later on with The Same Person-**_

Kakashi had come to relieve Yugao of her duties as the night began to progress, and the first thing she did was make her way to the Hokage.

Said old man was still very much awake and working in his office, and he really did despise long days. Then again short days were rare for someone in his position. What he was worried about was why Yugao had seen fit to come and give a report; it hadn't even been two days. Had there been another assassination attempt already?

"What is it Cat?"

"The boys were attacked," the Hokage sighed, "by some teenage bullies," Yugao continued, relieving the worry in his eyes slightly, "but that is not why I am here."

"It's to do with Goku then?"

"Yes, just before the bullies attacked them I felt something strange from where his Chakra coils should be. I felt something incredible emanating from the boy. Something that felt like Chakra but also vastly different from Chakra at the same time; an incredibly potent source of energy that doesn't have a network. It was powerful with deep reservoirs within it, and I doubt it was _any_ kind of Chakra we know of."

"Do you have any idea what it might have been? Could it be related to his transformation?" If this boy was releasing power like that maybe his tail hadn't been the source of his transformation. Maybe they'd just lucked out? This was worrisome indeed.

"I have absolutely no idea."

Once again the Hokage was wondering whether he'd done the right thing in letting the boy live.

"It doesn't change what we have to do Cat. He still needs to be observed. If it happens again report to me immediately."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"You're dismissed, get some rest."

Yugao was gone in a matter of moments as the Hokage went back to trying to sort through paperwork, his mind racing at the new information. He was having difficulty getting any work done when there was a knock at the door. Taking the distraction as a godsend he called out, "Enter."

An average sized shinobi wearing ANBU combat gear and black hair stood in front of him.

"Ahh, how was your mission?" the Hokage asked, addressing the unmasked man standing in front of him.

"Uneventful," the ANBU replied coolly.

"Good, good. Now there are a few things that you must know. Much has changed in the past few days and I fear the balance within the village we've worked so hard to maintain is at risk."

If there was one thing Hiruzen knew, it was that he could trust Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi may have just been a eleven-year-old chunin but it didn't change the fact that he was one hell of a shinobi. He'd only been a chunin for a month when the Hokage had come to him with the offer of ANBU. His skill in the art of the ninja was extraordinary and it wasn't something that Hiruzen had missed when his actions in the field had been reported. It quickly resulted in his secret induction within the ranks of ANBU. Officially, the boy would have to jump through many more hoops before he could become an ANBU, but the Hokage simply couldn't allow talent such as his to be wasted.

In the six months that he'd been ANBU, he'd saved countless lives and averted more national and internal disasters than Hiruzen would care to admit. He was simply one of the most methodical agents that the Sandaime had had a pleasure of dealing with. What Hiruzen liked most about his young ANBU though was not his skills, but his attitude. The Hokage of the hidden leaf knew of the young Uchiha's pacifistic disposition. Itachi wouldn't resort to violence unless absolutely necessary and that was what made him great at diffusing situations. Whether he was relieving tensions during encounters with foreign shinobi in the field, between clans within the village of Konoha or between the villages of the Elemental Nations, Hiruzen had come to rely on the ability of one Uchiha Itachi.

The boy had even saved his life, uncovering information that a there was a rogue group hidden within the village planning a coup. Had Hiruzen not received the intelligence when he did they may well have succeeded in ending his life. He never uncovered who was behind the planned attack, but the Hokage had his list of suspects, starting with Orochimaru. That was how Itachi found himself on the protection detail of two particular orphans; orphans that might prove dangerous to the safety of the village.

Between his skills, pacifistic nature, reliability and trustworthiness the Hokage hadn't even needed to think about his choice. Although Itachi had other duties, ranging from small missions to missions integral to the stability of the village, he was also able to make time to relieve Yugao and Kakashi on the odd occasion.

He'd just finished his first shift, having been replaced by a refreshed Yugao and was heading home. The Uchiha had had a long month and to be frank was looking forward to seeing his family, especially Sasuke. Itachi knew he wouldn't have the time to train properly with his little brother, which would upset the young ninja in training, but Itachi could at least give him some quick pointers.

From everything the Hokage had said about the two orphans you'd think they were malicious evil children, and while Itachi had had a few run ins with the redhead when he occasionally took shifts up for his dad working in the police force, he couldn't say that they were anything other than regular playful kids.

The short time he'd spent in his first shift on protection had only reinforced his view that these were simply kids trying to have fun and make fun in a village that didn't look too kindly on them. And he wasn't working for his dad, so he was going to let them prank the absolute pants off whoever was stupid enough to get caught out, even if the new arrival in Goku hadn't been too keen on Naruto's antics. However, even he found amusement in Naruto's master pranks.

How they sparred and simply spent time together was how he wished he could spend time with Sasuke sometimes.

Even so, he wouldn't drop his guard around these kids, as much as they reminded him of his brother and as much as he envied how carefree they seemed to be as they ran around, exploring the village and causing havoc. He had seen the damage caused by the so-called transformation of the black haired boy and he had witnessed the attack of the Kyuubi. The truth of the matter was that these boys could be as childish as they wanted, but they held terrible powers that neither of them seemed to know about. They had to be protected from people willing to steal that power, but more importantly the people of the village needed to be protected in case that power was ever unleashed. Itachi was not going to have a repeat of the attack on the village five years ago. He'd been old enough to remember that attack.

Uchiha Itachi's thoughts ran away with him as he pondered the situation the village was now in and it wasn't long before he found himself at his place of residence. Dropping over the side fence to their yard he noticed his young brother throwing shuriken at a training dummy, his back turned to him.

Sneaking up to Sasuke, Itachi jabbed him in the ribs lightly with two fingers, "Gotchya," he said light heartedly.

"What?!" Sasuke screamed. The younger Uchiha almost jumped out of his skin. His brother was a ghost, and having been focused so hard on hitting the targets in front of him with a precision that would make his father proud he'd never heard his idol sneak up on him.

Composing himself and with a pout, Sasuke turned to his brother. "You have to stop sneaking up on me like that!" He crossed his arms as he finished.

"You just need to get better Otouto," Itachi said, poking his sibling in the forehead before he could do anything about it. "And flick your wrist less next time, you'll have better luck with those targets."

Sasuke huffed as his brother started to walk inside, but he couldn't keep the faux hurt look on his face, sprinting after Itachi to give him a hug from behind.

"It's good to have you back nii-san!"

"It's good to be back," Itachi said, peeling his brother's arms off him as he pat him on the head and opened the sliding door, just in time for dinner to be served.

Between his previous missions outside the village, the information on Goku being revealed to him, taking care of some other village business pertaining to his ongoing missions and his relief shift for Kakashi and Yugao before he headed home, Itachi hadn't seen his family in over three weeks.

Mikoto had just been in the process of setting the table when her two children came walking through the back door.

"Kaa-san," Itachi said with a smile pulling her into a hug. "Tou-san," he added, addressing the man sitting at the table, before sitting down.

"When did you get back from your mission?" Mikoto asked, surprised that her son was back. She'd not heard from anyone that he was back in the village; she had noticed that of late though. That his missions were becoming more secretive, and that he was away from home for rather large amounts of time; which was strange for a fresh chunin. Maybe that meant they were grooming him for ANBU? Fugaku would surely be proud of that.

"Only just now," he lied, his smile never faltering. Until he was officially a part of the ANBU ranks, no one was to know about his position. It gave him the advantage of people not knowing his true strength, or his whereabouts.

A simple chunin, even if he was a genius Uchiha garnered much less attention than the same Uchiha who'd officially reached the rank of ANBU. It would also rock the boat less among the clans if it looked like an effort had been made for him to reach that position.

"Itachi," the eldest Uchiha of the household, and head of the Konoha police force said from his position at the head of the table, "how was the mission?"

"Simple enough," Itachi said calmly, not really wanting to share any of the details with his family, seeing as how there were only a few select people that knew of his true position within the village.

"Good, good, I'm glad to say that I'm making progress in getting you in a position to be inducted into the ANBU ranks, you might have more of a challenge then," Fugaku said with a smile. He really was proud of his son, advancing to such a rank at such a young age. His own son, the talk of the village, the genius Uchiha; he knew when he'd started training his eldest son that he would rise to greatness swiftly.

Before Itachi could respond Sasuke turned to his elder brother with awe in his eyes, "Wow nii-san! You're gonna to be an ANBU already? That is so cool!" The young boy was excited for his brother, his eyes wide with admiration before a thought occurred to him and he turned to his father. "Does that mean when nii-san is promoted you'll have time to train me?"

"Hahaha, father is very busy with village business Sasuke. You have to put the effort in yourself if you want to get stronger," Itachi said, ruffling the hair of boy who had taken a seat beside him, "I might be around the village more now though, so I could always help if I have time free."

"YES!" Sasuke was so excited about being able to spend more time with his brother, although his mother quickly shut him down as she reentered the room with their dinner.

"Now, now Sasuke, you shouldn't bother Itachi if he has missions he has to complete."

"Hahaha, it's fine Kaa-san, when I have the time I'll help Sasuke out a little," Itachi said before his brother could get upset. Between his father focusing on work and trying to get him a promotion and Itachi always being on missions Sasuke really wasn't getting much help with his training. "But I don't know when I'll be free brother," the genius added before his brother could get too excited.

"And thank you father for the help with my promotion," Itachi added, having not been able to 'thank' his father until then. While he didn't need it, he appreciated the effort his father was putting into his advancement, even if he did think his father should put more effort into training Sasuke. Itachi really didn't need the help anymore.

"Anything for you my boy," his son would be one of the greatest shinobi to ever live. He would see to that. The Uchiha clan would rise to the greatness of eras past, riding on the shoulders of the greatest Uchiha the clan had seen for generations.

 _ **-Two Weeks Later With Goku and Naruto-**_

They finished up their chores quickly before they headed out to an open parkland area, this one sitting near a path that ran along the water.

"Okay," Naruto said as he turned to his friend, "let's fight!"

"Finally!" Goku got into his signature fighting stance taught by Gohan. "Let's do this!"

"Go!" Naruto shouted, charging in earnest. Only to have Goku charge him to the ground, easily shoving him over and trying to hit him while he was down. Suffice to say, most of the attacks landed. He wasn't hitting Naruto as hard as he could, but he was making an example of him for letting him get the early advantage.

Naruto quickly came to his senses, otherwise it wouldn't have been long before he'd be seeing stars, and blocked a punch, pushing the boy off and punching him in the chest, allowing him room to back away and get to his feet.

Goku back flipped and then sprinted towards Naruto, blitzing him with his Saiyan physicality. The Saiyan attempted to hit Naruto with a swing, but the redhead jumped backwards just in time. However, he found himself unprepared for the sweeping kick that followed. Goku connected, and the kick knocked Naruto into the air. The son of Bardock capitalized on it, grabbing the redheads leg and tossing him after rotating three times.

Naruto, whilst being tossed, managed to grab Goku's arm and pull him along, making both tumble. Naruto punched Goku twice in the face, before Goku flipped over and gave the redhead a harsh roundhouse kick. The blow staggered him, sending him tumbling backwards. Goku, not able to regain control of himself, rolled onto the ground as well.

As they both got to their feet, they heard a small giggle, causing both of their heads to snap in the direction of the sound. There was a small girl standing and watching them from a distance. She had strange lavender, almost white, eyes and medium length black hair. She looked to be trying to cover her face with her hands. Occasionally she would move her hands away from her face, pushing her two index fingers together, before she went back to hiding behind them.

"W-what are you two doing?" She asked timidly through her hands when they looked over to her.

After her ordeal with the bullies a week ago, she wasn't taking any chances and her escort was sitting on the bench she'd just gotten up from, making sure to keep an eye on her. After her father had found out about the incident, she hadn't been getting nearly as much alone time. Hinata normally wouldn't have ever bothered talking to these boys, but they were curious. They looked like they were getting along, until the black-haired boy started to beat the other one up, and then they roughhoused with each other. She could only wonder why.

"What does it look like? We were sparring," Naruto said loudly, annoyed that this girl couldn't work it out.

She giggled again, "That's not how you spar silly, that's just roughhousing," she said with a smile. Hinata didn't get a nasty vibe from these two like the other two older boys yesterday. Maybe they were nicer? Maybe they'd be her friends?

"Aren't those the same things?"

The shy girl shook her head; she knew the difference. Her father was training her to be the head of the clan after all.

"Here," Hinata said as she finally made her way to them, getting into a stance. "you spar like th…"

Before she could even begin her explanation her bodyguard interrupted her.

"Hinata-sama, it is time to leave, leave those riff-raffs alone."

"Hey, we're not riff-raffs!" Goku spat back defiantly.

He'd entertained her curiosity for a little while, but she was getting too friendly with the Kyuubi and that black haired orphan. Well he figured he was an orphan. The only way he'd be hanging around that redhead was if he had no one to tell him otherwise.

Goku found himself a bit disappointed that the cute black haired girl that had mustered the courage to talk to them had to leave so soon, and he didn't like the way that the guard had addressed them.

"What's your name?" The Saiyan called out after the girl as she left them alone, "I'm Goku!"

"I'm Hinata," she said just loud enough for him to hear as she walked away with a rather sad expression on her face. She finally might have been able to make some friends for once. All she wanted was people that were her age to mingle and play with.

Before Goku could ponder on the situation any longer, his red-haired friend called out to him. "DODGE!"

"What?" Goku's question was swiftly answered when a fist bounced off his face, knocking him back a few feet.

"Hey, I wasn't ready!"

"So?" Naruto asked with a shit-eating grin on his face; you had to be ready all the time.

"Good point," Goku added before charging right back at him to attack. He broke through the redheads guard with practical ease and clipped Naruto in the jaw, throwing him back some and making him stagger dizzily.

The two boys fought for the rest of the afternoon, having the time of their lives.

 _ **-Two Weeks Later-**_

"So what do you want to do today?" Naruto asked his one and only friend Goku.

"Ummmm, how about we go look at the shops? I wanna see all the cool stuff they have," Goku said.

"Surely it's the same stuff from your village," the redhead replied, confused as to why Goku was so excited about looking at things they didn't have the money to buy. "Besides, the shopkeepers don't really like me, and I don't know why," he added dejectedly.

"That's pretty weird, we didn't do anything," Goku commented with obvious boredom.

"Yeah well don't ask me, I don't have a clue."

"I guess all we can do is hope they'll let us look 'round." Goku said hopefully. Aside from the bullies they constantly ran into, Goku hadn't really met anyone mean in Konoha. He didn't think the head mistress at the orphanage was mean; she was just stern.

Sure people ignored him and Naruto, but he thought that was because they were orphans. It was rude, but he had Naruto so it didn't matter to him. Now, being treated like scum not worth looking at was another matter entirely for the Saiyan...

Gaining the confidence to walk into a shop, Goku pulled Naruto along with him inside. Not three seconds later they were being thrown out, "STAY OUT OF MY SHOP IF YOU CAN'T BUY ANYTHING, ESPECIALLY YOU REDHEAD!"

Goku was confident that it was just the one bastard shopkeeper. But his firm confidence took blow after blow as they went to shop after shop and were thrown out immediately. Occasionally, a shopkeeper would let them look around for a little while before asking them to leave politely. Other times they wouldn't even get a foot within the door before they were yelled at to leave.

The only people Goku could say that were nice to Naruto and him were the old man and his daughter that worked at the ramen place. They didn't look at them with scorn or completely ignore them. The aged man even smiled at Naruto as they walked past to try and cheer him up, so he seemed like a nice guy. They even fed both of them a free bowl of delicious Ramen to compensate for their rough lives, which made them instantly fall in love with the place.

At the end of the ordeal, both of them looked dejected as they sat down on a park bench. The wind was blowing their hair around and rustling the leaves of the trees nearby, making it more difficult for anyone to overhear their conversation. They'd need to be sitting in the tree directly above the bench to overhear the conversation; not that they were worried if someone overheard them.

"Told you they hate me," Naruto said sadly.

"What got em' to hate you?" Goku asked, a little vexed.

"I don't know. I mean I prank them sometimes, ya know that," He put his head in his hands as tears started forming at the edges of his eyes, "But that's only because they ignore me."

Goku was amazed, as his red-haired friend always seemed so full of life and energy. This was the first time that he realized that without each other they were both alone in this large, harsh, cruel environment known as the world. Even living out in the wilderness with Gohan was better than being alone in the village, as he never had to deal with the amount of hatred launched at him everyday in Mount Paozu. He'd stick by his friend, and he wouldn't let anything come between them. Otherwise they'd be alone again, and Goku didn't particularly enjoy being alone, but he was used to it, living in the woods all of his life.

Yugao couldn't help feeling sorry for the Jinchuuriki below her. She was finally starting to realize how tough the kid had had it until now. And then Goku had come into his life, and he was actually starting to become livelier. He had a spark in his eyes that she'd never seen lit before.

Goku turned to his friend, pulling his feet up onto the bench as he wrapped his arms around his knees to stop his legs falling back to the ground. "What were those cool metal knives and discs that we saw in those shops?" Goku asked, wondering just what they were used for. They looked very deadly and lethal to him.

"They were kunai and shuriken," Naruto said wiping the tears from his eyes with a small smile forming on his lips. "Ninja use them, and one day I'm going to use them when I become the greatest shinobi ever and become Hokage!"

All Goku could do was laugh. "So you wanna be one of those cool guys with the masks?" Naruto had explained to the Saiyan that if you wanted to be cool, you had to be a shinobi and pointed out some of the coolest ninja in the village whenever they were around, namely the ANBU and the Jounin.

"Nah even cooler. The Hokage is the head of the entire village and he has an awesome hat!" Naruto was just getting more and more fired up as he spoke about his dream.

"I'm gonna go to the academy and learn to be a ninja and then I'm gonna be so awesome they'll just have to make me Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled to no one in particular, he stood up on the bench and raised a fist in the air, "No one's gonna stop me!" The redhead promptly calmed down and sat back on the bench, "So what do you want to do when you get older?"

"I dunno, I guess become as strong as I can be?"

"Where is your home?" Naruto asked, curious as to where his friend was from.

"Ummm," Goku said, looking down at his hands. "I lived in the woods all my life."

Before he broke into a massive grin, "That is SO COOL, DATTEBAYO!"

Yugao laughed at all the noise the young boy was making. She couldn't have done anything to stop Goku from telling Naruto without blowing her cover. Besides she didn't really want to stop him, Naruto would have found out eventually if their friendship so far was anything to go by.

If he could tell Naruto his story it also meant that he could tell the Hokage. She'd inform the head of the village when she got the chance, so he could act on it when he deemed fit. Then Naruto realized what that meant for his friend.

"Then why exactly are you here?" Now it was Naruto's turn to be concerned for his friend.

"My Ojiisan named Gohan was killed on accident..." Goku said, the slight waver in his voice showing it was a touchy subject, "...by me."

Naruto remained silent for awhile, letting the realization dawn on him. Goku decided not to leave his friend worrying and broke the silence. "But it's okay, it was just an accident even though I still feel bad."

"Well hey, shit happens. Why don't you become a shinobi like me! We can be ninja together and stop bad things from happening and I dunno, get stronger!"

"I ain't got nothin else to do, fine. I'll be a shinobi and surpass my limits!" A slight smile touching his lips.

Yugao was proud of the little rascals. If they were always like this she had a feeling nothing would stand in their way. Goku was obviously the best thing to have ever happened to the small red-haired Jinchuuriki of Konoha.

Reapplying herself to the task at hand after her little moment, the young prodigy ANBU realized something was wrong. She didn't know what it was, but she had a feeling in her gut. A feeling that something bad was about to happen to the two youngsters sitting below her.

And at that moment came the attack, proving her gut feeling right.

A kunai flashed from a tree on the opposite side of the park with blinding speed. Reacting in time to launch her own shuriken that would knock the kill-shot off of it's path, Yugao turned to find a rogue ANBU lunging at her from behind.

She quickly fell backwards from the tree, landing next to the boys, and before they could say anything Yugao spoke up. "Goku, Naruto, you are both in danger, stay near me and I'll keep you safe." The ANBU that had attacked her dropped from the tree, his features covered by a bear mask, while another sprinted out from the other side of the clearing her mask depicting a ferret.

Ferret quickly came to a stop out of reach of Yugao as she tried to protect the two children. They were surrounded, and Yugao knew that as fast as she was, she wasn't going to be able to get both of them out of harm's way if she tried to flee.

The question then became, could she protect them while fighting two Anbu-level combatants?

What she was most surprised by though was that the attack came in broad daylight. And while the park was mostly empty, Yugao could spot a few civilians playing with their children and a young Hyuga and her bodyguard. There were witnesses. Just what the hell were they thinking?

"What's going on Cat-san?" Goku asked, oblivious to the killer intent in the area. He recognized the Cat mask on the woman that was protecting them. But why was she even in the tree above them to begin with? What was going on?

Naruto looked just as confused as he stood next to his friend, fear in his eyes. Why were they in danger? What was going on? His thoughts perfectly mimicked Goku's.

"You don't have to do this," Yugao said as she tried to prevent them from advancing any further.

"You think you can stop us?" Bear said as he took another step toward the boys. "It's two against one. And even if we fail there will be others. Don't think that just because we didn't protest to the Hokage's actions that we agree with them!" He lunged at Goku in an angry strike, intent on taking the child's life.

"Stay away from my friend!" Naruto yelled at the strange man, stepping between the masked assailant and Goku.

"Move out the way!" Goku shouted, pushing both himself and Naruto out of harms way, hitting the ground. Bear turned back around and leaped back towards them with a speed that the little Goku could barely even register. Using his Saiyan instincts, he caught very few of his opponents wild strikes and narrowly evaded the rest. Then one strike connected, and it knocked the utter wind out of the Saiyan.

Naruto then, having had enough, scooped Bear by the legs and caught him off-guard with a tackle. However, the Anbu kicked Naruto off of his leg and flipped over. Then Goku reappeared in front of him, ready to fight for his and Naruto's sake.

The angry ANBU hesitated just enough at the sight of the boy in his way for Yugao to step between the two and separate the man's arm at the elbow with her blade, her blade a silver blur as she unsheathed it and struck in one swift motion.

Ferret had been charging from the other side at the same time, but seeing her partner go down hard gave her just the slightest falter in her step. Yugao capitalized on the error, turning her body and dashing past the boys in a burst of pure speed, putting her blade straight through the kunoichi before she could harm Naruto.

She might have been fifteen years old, but there was something to be said for her skills if she had been a bodyguard to the Hokage. She simply wasn't going to be bested by two regular ANBU, especially when these boys' lives were at stake.

Naruto turned to say thank you, but was stopped as the mysterious Cat held up her hand to stop him from speaking. She stalked over to the shinobi that was still alive, and his hand lie twitching on the ground.

He made to throw two shuriken with his off-hand, but they were easily intercepted by Yugao's blade before she lifted it and drove into his torso, pinning him to the ground, protective anger surfacing for just a second.

"Why?" She seethed, bending down to take off the mask.

"I was not…" the shinobi spluttered his words barely a whisper in the ears of Yugao, "We were not going to raise a child in a world that contained such a monster."

"You're wrong," Yugao said coolly, feeling nothing for what she had done to this man now. "You're the monster. A monster that tried to kill two innocent little children who don't know any better!" She twisted the blade, ending the encounter, the life quickly fading from his eyes.

Goku and Naruto were both stunned after what had happened. It had only been moments, but now both of their attackers were dead, and they were saved. Thanks again to this mysterious Cat. Only this time the stakes had been much, much higher.

The masked woman unrolled a scroll she extracted from her vest before placing it on the body of the dead man. It disappeared in a puff of smoke and she moved to do the same with the woman before Goku finally spoke up.

"Thanks Cat-san," he said, unsure of how to actually respond to the situation. He was shaken, but for some reason he hadn't felt as afraid as he thought he should have. "Why'd they wanna hurt us? What the heck is going on?" Why did anyone want to hurt them?

"I cannot answer that boys, only know that I'm here to protect you," she bent down over the body of the woman, it too disappearing in a puff of smoke after the scroll was placed on her chest. "You will have answers eventually, just not from me."

She disappeared in a **Shunshin**. It was hard to just leave them when she wanted to comfort them, to try and explain the situation, but she needed to report this and she'd just seen Kakashi land in the tree above the park bench where the boys had been sitting. They had protection, and the Hokage had to know immediately.


	3. Academy Lesson 1: Taijutsu

_Chapter 3:_ _Academy Lesson 1: Taijutsu_

* * *

 _ **-One Week Later With Hinata-**_

Hinata was starting to get worried. She wasn't sure what was wrong, but her mother was still looking as pale as she had been the day she'd given birth to her little sister. She'd not been out of her bed that often, one of the times that she'd left they'd had a photograph of the family taken.

That day Hinata had thought she was starting to feel better but it hadn't been the case. Her mother had spent the next five days mostly bedridden. They weren't sure what was wrong, and the medic-nin that had been called in to help her weren't able to diagnose the problem.

They just had to wait to see if she would get better, so that was what Hinata was doing. She'd just finished a training session with her father, whom once again seemed disappointed with her progress. After showering and getting dressed, she'd come to sit next to her mother, as she lay bedridden, weak and pale.

Hinata brought her something to eat, and she was having trouble even feeding herself, the young Hyuuga having to spoon feed her own mother.

Lifting an arm weakly she signaled her daughter to stop.

"Hinata," she said in barely a whisper.

"Yes Kaa-san? What is it? W-what can I do?" Hinata said, eager to help her mother in any way possible.

"Not much," the kindest woman she knew said with a weak smile. "Just remember that I love you, and I will always love you. Never let anybody tell you that you are useless, because you are amazing, and you will do great things one day, okay?"

"O-okay," Hinata whispered, the fear starting to show in her eyes, "but, but why are you telling me this Kaa-san? You're gonna to be fine! You're gonna to be fine right?"

Her mother just weakly smiled before the life faded from her eyes and she whispered a final; "I love you," her hand falling limp in the grasp of her eldest daughter.

 _ **-Elsewhere-**_

"Did you hear? There was an attack on Konoha! Some people passing through have seen the damage done to the woodlands. Apparently it's incredible. They don't know what could have caused that much damage, as it literally went on for ages. Some people even said there are massive craters miles apart! What do you think did it?"

Jiraiya's ears pricked up as he heard what the two civilians at the table next to him were saying. As much as writing was important to him this sounded serious. Why hadn't the Hokage called for him? Right, because he moved around so much. Guess the old man figured he'd find out sooner or later.

While he had been following leads on Orochimaru, he'd just hit a dead end. Guess now was as good a time as any to head back and see what all the fuss was about. From the sounds of the damage this was serious. He hoped no one was injured. He'd be distraught if one of the fine kunoichi of his village had been hurt. Giggling at the thought of peeking on the women of Konoha again he packed up his equipment and headed out, looking to get some distance covered before nightfall.

 _ **-Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office-**_

"Did you hear that Tsuchikage-sama? Konoha came under attack, what do you think the damage is?"

The hunched old man wondered what exactly had attacked the village he so despised; home to Namikaze Minato, before his demise at the hands of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Not many forces were game enough to go head on with the village Hidden in the Leaves.

"I don't know, but we need recon if we are going to act on it," if Konoha was weakened he wasn't going to pass up this chance to finally knock them from their pedestal. But first he needed Intel, and that wasn't going to happen overnight.

 _ **-In Hi no Kuni-**_

All over the elemental nations, the news of an attack on Konoha was spreading. The damage having been done to the village going from a truthful nothing, to being exaggerated beyond belief as the Elemental Nations played Chinese whispers. Small nations began militarizing while the larger nations began gathering Intel, trying to find out if the one great village might be toppled in the near future. One particular party that was very interested in the fate of the village hidden within the leaves was a very powerful man. A man with many fingers in many pies.

That was if you could call him a man; he looked more like a snake. HSSSSSS...

 _ **-A Week Later**_ ** _In The Hokage's Office_ -**

"Hokage-sama," Yugao said, "The boys finally seem to be recovering from their ordeal. At least enough that they have the courage to venture outside the orphanage. I suspect staying inside was driving them stir-crazing," she finished with a small smile.

"That's good," Hiruzen said with a smile, the faster they got settled again the better, "Tenzou, anything to report from your observations?"

"No Hokage-sama," the rather emotionless shinobi said, his iconic wrap around Hitai-ate framing his face as he spoke, "nothing of import, other than that the boys seem to be recovering as Yuugao has reported."

"Kakashi?"

"Nothing to report on that front. I've heard nothing from any of my contacts. However the village is treating them harshly. It would seem word of the incident in the park has spread and it's inadvertently turned more of the village against them. They haven't been subjected to physical violence, but while I've been observing them from the shadows they've been abused verbally and refused service, among other things. It would appear the village is afraid of what they don't understand and they don't understand either of those two children, especially after the attack."

Tenzou nodded in assent, verifying that he'd seen the same. This was news to Yugao, "What are you talking about?" she never really got the chance to debrief with Kakashi outside of meetings with the Hokage.

The Hokage had been worried about the fallout, before Kakashi could speak up he interjected. "Yes well this is what I've been afraid of. Pebbles have been thrown in the pond and the ripples are still stirring the water. I can only imagine this comes as a surprise to you Yugao because you make yourself somewhat visible during observation, as per my orders. I imagine this deters most of the harsher treatment from the villagers. When you aren't around however I fear the truth of Kakashi's report. There is little we can do about it though, the gears of the gossip machine are turning and it'll be hard to control it without creating even more of stir; I'm running damage control as it is. It will just have to be something they will have to deal with for now, Naruto has thick skin and Goku has tough skin for children so that is all we can hope for, keep up the good work, you are dismissed."

Kakashi nodded and he and Tenzou disappeared, leaving only Yugao alone with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Uhhh," Yugao stood a little nervously, unsure how to proceed because she did something two weeks prior that she shouldn't have. However, she wouldn't have done differently if she had another shot.

"You wanted to speak to me in private then Yugao? What is it?"

"Hai, I have revealed myself to the children. It was on the attack day," she explained the entire situation to the Hokage, who just sat, listening to what the boys did and where they ended up at the end of the chase. She told him every detail and he looked at her with an expression even she couldn't decipher.

"So they know that they are protected Hokage-sama, but I couldn't let them keep going thinking they were alone."

Hiruzen's expression softened a little at this and he sighed. "It's okay Yugao," she breathed a sigh of relief, "maybe it's for the best. Ever since the attack they would have questions, and while prior to the attack I wouldn't have had you reveal the information you did, it shouldn't bring about many more questions. It has however seemed to give them the confidence to start being children again, so there is always that. Now if you haven't anything else to say I have a rather large amount of paperwork to get through," the old village leader said jokingly.

"Actually I had a suggestion Hokage-sama."

"Yes?"

"Well, Naruto and Goku are always talking about ninja and always playing ninja. I thought they might be allowed to join the academy in the next group of enrollments."

"Hmmmm, yes that might be for the best. They've been thrust into this world whether they like it or not, and it would be for the best if they were prepared in anyways possible," he sat and pondered for a second, a number of thoughts running through his mind. "Hmmm, how would you like to be the teacher of their class? It would make it easier to look after them."

Yugao's eyes lit up, this way she'd have more direct contact with them. She'd be able to make a difference that wasn't just protecting them, "Hai Hokage-sama, I would like that very much," she said as formally as possible, trying to hide the excitement that was building within her.

"Don't go showing any favoritism now," he said with a chuckle, "now get out of here."

"Hai," she said, looking for a second like the excited teenage girl that she was before donning her mask and disappearing in a **Shunshin**.

Later on, Yugao, after having replaced Itachi, watched as the two boys 'sparred', as they liked to call it.

Their sparring was more just them running around kicking and hitting each other when the time was right than it was sparring, but she couldn't tell them that. Not until she was their teacher at the academy. And either way, it was entertaining for the kunoichi to watch. It was a change of pace from what most of the past two weeks had been.

She learned that Goku is much more durable than the average person for his age, with Naruto's punches not even leaving too many marks on his body and rocks hardly leaving any scratches. Naruto on the other-hand wasn't as durable but made up for it with his healing factor via the Kyuubi, and being nigh inexhaustible. So no serious injuries actually occurred from the roughhousing.

 _ **-Later in The Hokage's Office-**_

Goku stood nervously in the center of the office as Naruto sat off to the side. When the Hokage had gone to them to return the Dragonball, he'd asked Goku if he would be able to have some people look at him, so they could try and better understand his physiology. Naruto, naturally, had asked to come along and the Hokage had had no problem.

That was how the little Jinchuuriki found himself sitting to side, watching as his best friend stood, looking around, holding his recently returned dragon ball to his chest. Two people walked through the double doors to the room followed by a man with black hair that looked like a pineapple to the young Jinchuuriki.

"Hiashi, Mitate, thank you for coming," the Hokage said to the two people that preceded Shikaku.

"What is it that you require Hokage-sama?" Hiashi said in a slightly annoyed tone; he'd been called to the office and given no reason.

"Yes Hokage-sama, what have we been called here for?" Mitate asked.

Mitate was a medical-nin wearing the standard white high collared full body uniform of the Konoha Medical Corps. He was more amicable as he'd been called off a dull shift at the hospital so it wasn't like he was complaining.

"I would just like you to run an analysis on this boy," the Hokage said, "Hiashi you will obviously take a look at his chakra network and stores and Mitate I'd like you to run a diagnostic on his body."

"Is there any particular reason we are running these tests on an orphan boy Hokage-sama?" Hiashi had better things to be doing than running tests on the small boy who was friends with Naruto.

"Yes Hiashi. He is _that_ boy, and I would just like you to run the tests and give me the results. You are free to leave then," Hiashi immediately understood, and now he was wary of just what he was going to find when he examined the child. Quickly activating his Byakugan what he found completely surprised him.

"Okay," Mitate spoke first leaving Hiashi waiting to share his results, "I'll go first, the physical shouldn't take long."

The Hokage didn't miss the surprised look that Hiashi was trying to hide, and the disdainful looks that he clearly wasn't.

Mitate quickly ran a chakra-coated hand around Goku, who was at first alarmed by the blue glow. As soon as the strange medic had started though he realized it was harmless and relaxed, allowing the man to do his job. After quickly running his diagnostic technique over most of Goku he then proceeded to check his temperature and pupil dilation before turning to the Hokage.

"Aside from a dense skeleton, extremely durable skin, enhanced muscles and a slightly more defined tailbone than any other villager, there is nothing strange about this boy. He's just a regular five year old. A very durable five year old at that, but still a regular child."

"Thank you Mitate, you can go now, that is all I needed to hear."

"Hai Hokage-sama," Mitate said as he left Hiashi alone with the two boys and the Hokage. Goku went and sat himself down next to Naruto, waiting for further instructions.

"Now from your surprise earlier, I suspect there is nothing ordinary about this boy at all? Is there Hiashi?" the Hokage said, slightly worried at what the man had found. He was glad Goku had passed the physical, but Hiashi looked to have uncovered something troubling.

"I would prefer to discuss this alone," the elder Hyuuga said as he looked sternly toward the two children, clearly not a fan of either of them.

"Fine, fine. Goku, Naruto wait outside, I'll call you both back in, there is more to discuss when we are finished," Hiruzen said with a faux smile.

The two young boys didn't protest as they got up and ran out the door to the office.

"Now Hiashi, what is it?"

"Three, there's definitely three inside of him."

"Excuse me?"

"That, that _thing_ has definitely three chakra networks," Hiashi said harshly.

"That _thing_ is a young boy Hiashi, just like any of us-"

"No, he's nothing like any of us. He appears to have three noticeable chakra networks. One that is most like ours, yet even it is large, as if it is accustomed to channeling a very large amount of chakra; chakra that I couldn't seem to sense at all, as if it was just waiting to be released and flow outwards. The next is even larger and I would say is the boy's primary network, this network looks as if it is capable of channeling above Kage sized reserves at it's current state. Kage-sized reserves in a 5 year old!" Hiashi was almost shouting by now, and he had to recompose himself. "Again the network is relatively inactive, as if the power has to be drawn upon by the boy himself. The next one is the scary part, I can't even sense the amount underneath it. All I can say is that it's downright enormous, like a small lake being flowed into an ocean. It feels transcended, but the boy is worlds away from even attempting to tap into it. I can only assume that it's a kekkei genkai from his clan."

"And you said it was dormant or inactive?" the Hokage inquired before Hiashi could continued, which irked the clan leader to say the least.

"Yes, it's currently dormant and untapped, but that doesn't mean he won't tap into it in the future. What's also troubling is that the chakra that I could sense within all the networks felt had some similarities to our chakra but only a few. It felt much less refined and versatile yet more powerful and potent, not as if it were completely untrained but of a different form of energy than chakra, much denser and potent even, if that were even possible. So no Hokage-sama, this boy is nothing like any of us and I'll not stand for having this boy freely wandering the village," Hiashi said with as much composure as he could summon.

To be frank this child unnerved him and he didn't want him wandering around freely. "We don't know what he can do with those networks; what power he is capable of nor whom he is working for. For all we know he's one of Orochimaru's twisted experiments."

That was the last straw for the Hokage, Orochimaru was always a touchy subject, with a pained expression he rubbed the bridge of his nose, this was getting more and more troublesome with every moment. The only people he knew with a chakra network eerily similar to that is Muten Roshi of the Turtle and Shin of the Crane. "That is enough! He is not a twisted experiment of Orochimaru's," he composed himself slightly. "I thank you for your chakra network analysis, but he is just a little boy who happens to be hiding a power none of us can even comprehend! Even he doesn't seem to know what he is. Your analysis might help us in the long run, so I thank you, but your words need not ever be repeated outside these walls!"

Hiashi, the proud man that he was, only barely bit back the words that were going to spill from his mouth; he was still in the presence of the Hokage after all. Straightening himself he replied, "If that is all, I have affairs to attend to."

"Yes you may leave," the Hokage said as if nothing had just happened.

"Hai Hokage-sama," Hiashi said before turning and leaving.

As Hiashi opened the door and departed, the two young boys poked their heads around the corner of the frame, causing the Hokage to laugh, despite the situation.

"Haha, yes come in boys."

They hurried up to the desk and each sat in a chair, both waiting intently to hear what the Hokage had to say.

"Goku, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you, you are just a bit different than we are, which is no surprise," Hiruzen smiled at the relief on the face of the young boy. "Now I wanted to talk to you two about what's going to happen to you both. I've decided to permit both of you entrance to the academy if you so wish. If that happens you'll both live in the same apartment."

The faces of the boys both lit up at the prospect of what it would mean.

"You should become a ninja with me Goku!" Naruto exclaimed, eager to get his friend to join him in his dream. "Then we can be strong and protect everyone. Like you said, you wanna become as strong as you can be, so this is your chance!"

That sealed the deal for the young Saiyan. He'd join the academy; Son Goku was to be a Shinobi.

"That settles it then, class starts in a week, until then you can live at the orphanage. At the end of the first day you'll be going to your new home. How does that sound?"

"Can it be the cat-lady that watches over us?" Naruto asked eagerly. He really wanted the cool woman who was looking after them to be their active guardian.

"That settles it then, class starts in a week, until then you will live at the orphanage. At the end of the first day you'll be going to your new home. How does that sound? Now scram boys, and enjoy learning at the academy!"

After they'd finish, Hiruzen had to sit and think. If such a small boy held three chakra networks and a strange source for power, what did that mean for the rest of his race? This was indeed troublesome. And they'd still yet to determine what exactly the power within the boy was. Maybe during his training they'd uncover the answer.

Either way, Hiashi wasn't going to like that the boys were going to the academy, but Hiruzen didn't see a reason why not. If the boy had the potential to become immensely powerful, then wasn't it better he be properly trained in the use of that power?

Hiruzen sighed. This was all getting rather troublesome. Sometimes he wished that they'd never had the small bundle of joy visit them from the stars. And then he remembered the smiles he'd seen on Naruto since, of the happiness that he heard Yugao tell of, and he knew that it'd all work out somehow, someway.

 _ **-The Next Morning – Uchiha Fugaku's Residence-**_

Itachi knew something was off, he just didn't know why. While he might have been a fantastic ninja he couldn't read his father's mind, so it could have been any number of reasons he was in a sour mood that morning.

Fugaku sat staring angrily at his food as if pondering a puzzle he just couldn't work out.

"Father, what's the matter?" Itachi asked politely. Maybe he could help with the problem.

"It's nothing Itachi, the Hokage has just been very secretive with some information that I believe is necessary knowledge. If the people aren't going to know, then at least the police force should," his fist clenched tightly, "He needs to tell us. He can't keep the council in the dark."

"Tell you what?" Itachi asked, acting curious about the politics within the village. He played naïve around his superiors, even his father; little did they know he probably knew more about the dynamics within Konoha than they probably did; courtesy of his missions for the Hokage.

"All I can say is that it involves details of the attack near the village around a month ago," Fugaku said.

"Why can't you tell me more?" Itachi inquired again.

"Because son, besides the fact that the culprit is apparently a small child, that's all I know," he continued to just stare at the food in front of him as if it were going to give him the answers he needed.

 _'Wow Hokage-sama, you really are keeping them in the dark._ _That being said though, how much do you really know?'_

"Are you sure that's not all he knows either father?" Itachi had to be careful he didn't defend the Hokage too much now; from the sounds of it Hiruzen was walking on thin ice as it was. He didn't need to antagonize his father into confronting the man.

"If it is, then the village needs a new Hokage. That old man can't seem to be able to get anything done."

Before the conversation could continue any longer, Sasuke came running down the stairs. "Time to train niisan!" The young black haired boy said as he sprinted through the room and into the back yard.

This elicited a small smile from the old head of police and Itachi chuckled as the serious exchange abruptly ended and he walked through the door. "Don't worry yourself too much father, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Itachi, I've got a bad feeling about all this madness."

Itachi wished he could tell his father that he was tailing the boy; that he could put his mind to ease. But the people couldn't know. The only one allowed to be spotted tailing the two was Yugao, and that was just to ease the worries of the majority.

"Niisan," Sasuke said, "did a boy really attack the village?"

"Haha I knew you'd be listening. You're too curious for your own good Otouto. I guess I have to tell you now; yes it's true, I wouldn't doubt father's word. Now you can't tell anyone, no one at all."

The small Uchiha nodded in assent, if his Aniki said so he wouldn't tell a soul.

"Now let's see if your shuriken skills are up to scratch. I won't have my little brother being outdone at the academy." Sasuke's face lit up at the reminder. He was finally going to the academy. In a few weeks he'd officially be a ninja in training!

 _ **-One Week Later – Ninja Academy-**_

Naruto and Goku were nervous, they really didn't know anyone and so decided to stick to themselves as they walked toward their classroom. They noticed that not everyone was their age; many were older, some a little younger. Goku figured there mustn't be an age requirement. They entered an empty classroom and took seats down near the front; they didn't want to miss anything after all. They were going to be the best shinobi ever! This attitude was why the room was also empty. The chunin receptionist gave them a strange look as she pointed them to their classroom a full thirty minutes early.

Goku and Naruto sat chatting, wondering what they were going to be taught. As they threw ideas back and forth, most of them ridiculous, the door opened slowly and a small girl poked her head in as if checking to make sure it was the right room. When she saw Naruto and Goku her face lit up and she opened the door fully, revealing a small black haired girl with pale skin and white eyes.

She'd found them! Finally the two boys she'd seen in the park. Hoping that they could be friends she walked shyly up to them. They were the only people in the room so she could hardly ignore them.

"Uhh, hi," she said shyly as she stood in front of them.

"Hello," Goku said, remembering the girl from the park, "Remember me, I'm Goku!" He said, reintroducing himself exuberantly.

"And I'm Naruto, dattebayo!" Naruto said, not bothering with being subdued.

"Heh," she said shyly, "I'm Hinata, do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"No, go ahead," Goku replied with a smile, and soon there were three children sitting in an empty classroom coming up with fanciful ideas about what might be taught on the first day. It wasn't long until the classroom began filling up and their teacher walked in. She was a slender woman whose age they couldn't really tell. She looked around 18, though she definitely could have been younger. She had beautiful purple hair and wore red lipstick.

"Okay class, my name is Yugao and I'll be your teacher for your stay at the academy, assuming you pass the exams and move onto the next class," as she introduced herself the two boys in the front froze, instantly recognizing the voice as that of the woman who had once saved their life and vowed to protect them. When she was finished she turned and winked at them before starting to write on the black board.

"Now I'll not have any slackers in my class, so keep up!" With that she turned and began writing notes on the blackboard as she lectured them on the essentials of being a ninja, starting with Konoha history.

 _ **-Somewhere near Kumogakure-**_

"What is it Orochimaru-sama?" The young, pale and bespectacled Kabuto said with a bowed head as he stood among the shadows of a meeting room within a hidden base not far from the outskirts of Kumogakure.

"Thingsss are beginning to get interesting within Konoha. I want my best eyes and ears on the job Kabuto-san. That means you finding out what you can, and destabilizing what you can get away with. I will bring that village down, and I will steal their power when I do," the sick and twisted Snake Sannin said from the shadows of the meeting room, "Get me the information I seek."

"Hai Orochimaru-sama, they'll never suspect me,"

"No, and that's why you are perfect for the job, now go and serve me Kabuto, serve me well," the greedy Sannin couldn't help but lick his lips and grin at the prospect of getting back at the village hidden within the leaves. He would have his revenge, no matter how long it took.

 _ **-Lunchtime the Next Week – Ninja Academy-**_

He ducked under a fast right, and jumped the following sweep directed at him by Naruto. Goku had to admit that he loved to roughhouse/spar with his friend. His friend was very competitive just as he was, and his natural thrill for battle was kept in check by Naruto. He enjoyed the fights themselves, and while he was the much better fighter, Naruto kept coming back for more with a Will of Fire.

The young Saiyan jumped over the sweeping leg only to find Naruto had recovered by the time his feet hit the ground. Bringing his arms up in an X to form the best guard he could against his friend's monster of a punch was all he could do. He dug his feet in to prevent himself from sliding and grabbed the offending limb, quickly throwing Naruto over his shoulder in response.

Ever since they'd started fighting each other they'd been getting better, it was slow progress due to not being the usual, formal training, but they'd still been conditioning their bodies by fighting each other day in and day out. Their reflexes were getting sharper and their responses were more natural than they otherwise would have been and it showed immensely.

Naruto quickly broke the hold Goku had before he hit the ground, allowing him to roll away unscathed, but now it was Goku on the offensive. He closed the distance quickly and lashed out with a punch that Naruto managed to side step, making Goku's fist hit the ground and leave a noticeable dent in it. Naruto countered by dropping his shoulder and stepping into the attack to ram his friend.

The resulting hit sent Goku backwards, forcing him to stumbling backwards, where he rolled back to his feet, a grin on his face as he stared down his friend. He wasn't sure what it was, but the simplicity of fighting, the focus and anticipation of the next move, there were times when it allowed him to forget his troubles completely.

It was Goku's turn to strike now, sprinting forward he ducked under a straight jab launched by Naruto, blocked a rising knee with his left arm and hit his friend square in the chest with a solid right handed palm strike. The resulting impact knocked his friend back several feet, forcing him out of his stance and causing him to stumble, falling flat on his ass.

Naruto flipped back up, tapping himself to show he wasn't hurt and rushed towards the Saiyan. Goku, simply being the better one at Taijutsu, anticipated each of Naruto's punches and evaded swiftly each time. He then parried Naruto's fist and threw and jab to which Naruto ducked under. The blonde attempted to uppercut him but Goku used a spin move to outmaneuver his opponent. Rearing his leg back, he thrusted it forward only to have his shoe caught and be thrown a good five feet. Goku landed on all fours, but flipped over. He then nailed the blonde in the chest with a hind kick, his instincts telling him that he was charging from behind.

Naruto shot upwards two feet off of the ground and landed on his back, gasping from the blow. Goku proceeded to walk over and extended a hand with a smile, helping the redhead to his feet.

To any experienced shinobi, their fighting was merely roughhousing, they were simply children after all. While their technique at certain things was improving slowly through trial and error and sheer practice, they were still inexperienced children in the eyes of any ninja worth their salt.

The rest of the children in their class didn't share that view. And nearly all of them were standing dumbfounded at what they'd just seen.

Sasuke was impressed. While he had formal training and his technique was very solid because it was something he practiced everyday, the sheer speed, durability and power the two displayed was incredible when compared to anything he'd seen of anyone his age, including himself. Sure his brother would have easily outdone them, but his brother was an Uchiha prodigy.

Chouji could only watch their 'fight' with his mouth agape, while Shikamaru muttered "Troublesome" under his breath.

"Oh my kami, that was so cool!" Ino shouted when the fight was over, she walked over to Naruto to get a better look at the redhead. There was no malice in the fight, anyone watching could tell that, there was just the sheer enjoyment of competition, "you really are cool Naruto!"

"You think so?" Naruto beamed, he'd never been complimented by a girl as pretty as Ino before. "Thanks I guess, I'm gonna be Hokage after all, dattebayo!"

Ino just giggled before retreating back over to Chouji and Shikamaru, and this time it was Hinata that spoke up, "You fought amazingly Goku!" She exclaimed boldly, not to be outdone by Ino. Her father never said anything about seeing them during lunchtime; they were technically still at school.

Sasuke was genuinely interested, he might be able to learn something from these two, something that might help him surprise his big brother. He'd have to ask one of them for a fight, especially Goku, as his technique was solid unlike Naruto's.

"I wa-" he started before being cut off.

"Alright kids!" Yugao shouted from the door to the academy. "My class, it's time to get back inside, we've got more history to learn!" She shouted with a devilish grin and a cackle. As Naruto and Goku passed her she whispered to them. "Nice fight boys, you really are improving, but wait until I teach you all some real moves," she finished with a wink and they continued on to class.

They were already making a name for themselves among the lunch yard. She wondered what would happen when they started to learn genuine combat skills, would they take to those as quickly?

 _ **-Later that afternoon - Hyuga Compound-**_

Hinata had a reasonably nice time at the academy that day and she was content when she returned home with her escort, having been awed by the fight her two friends had put on for the rest of the class unintentionally.

For once she went into the training session she had with her father with a tiny amount of hope. Hope that she could do well, that she could learn, because if Goku and Naruto could fight so amazingly she'd need to be able to as well.

As she stood in the door of the Hyuga main house dojo, her escort Shinten walked over to her father, the stoic clan head sitting in the center of the room with his eyes closed, and bent down whispering in his ear. Hinata was confused, normally this wouldn't happen, Shinten would usually just leave her and her father alone.

Her father sighed after Shinten had finished speaking and stood, issuing a command that she couldn't hear before turning toward her.

"I hear news that you haven't heeded my words Hinata, that you were seen supporting, what was his name? Goku, yes, that brat. You will listen to me Hinata and you will have nothing to do with those boys," her father uttered coldly, sending shivers of fear through her body. "And just so you remember," he paused and looked toward the opposite entrance to the dojo where a young boy and Shinten now stood. "Neji shall be your sparring partner until I decide otherwise. And don't worry too much, I won't let him simply kill you."

Hinata didn't know what she'd done to deserve any of this, but still she proceeded to step further into the dojo. She resolved that she'd face Neji with all her strength and will, no matter what the obvious outcome would be.

 _ **-One week later – Ninja Academy-**_

So far Yugao had taught them nothing but math and history. Naruto really wasn't enjoying this ninja stuff as much as he thought he would and Goku didn't care much about the stuff Yugao had been teaching them so far either.

"Okay kids," Yugao announced when everyone had arrived for class, she couldn't help but notice that Hinata was limping; she'd have to ask what that was all about later. "Today we'll start on combat training, more importantly the basics of Taijutsu. In order for me to effectively teach you I need to see your strengths and weaknesses in the physical art so I will have you spar each other in a tournament of sorts. I will of course be adjudicating each match and you will abide by everything I say, I'll not be having any severe injuries out there today, got it? Now the boys will fight amongst each other and the girls will fight amongst each other. Out on the battlefield they won't care what gender you are, but for today the boys will fight each other and the girls will fight each other. Now everyone outside, quick!"

Moments later the room was bustling with children making their way toward the exit, excited that they were going to do something interesting for once. Goku especially, he couldn't wait to test himself against the heirs of the prestigious clans inside Konohagakure.

It wasn't long before everyone was centered around the ring painted on the ground that would be their area and Yuugao stood over them all. "Alright before we start with formal training I want to see what you know already, some of you I know will have already had training and others haven't but that doesn't mean you aren't natural fighters so I want you all to try your best. We'll start with the male division, first up I'd like to see Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru," she called out to the students, beckoning the two children into the arena, one on each side of the circle. "Start when you're ready."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Shikamaru spoke up. "I quit," he announced to everyone before stepping out of the ring.

"You what?" Yugao deadpanned.

"That is most dishonorable Shikamaru-san," Shino remarked before stepping out of the ring, "But I guess I move onto the next round."

"Shikamaru, what the hell was that all about?" The purple haired teacher questioned the Nara heir.

"Fighting's troublesome. Had I won, I would have ended up fighting Naruto, Sasuke or Goku or someone who's strong, and I don't need that, I'd rather be sleeping right now," he replied off-handedly before going and sitting in the shade under a tree with his eyes closed.

Yugao just sighed before calling out the next match-up, "Fine, Inuzuka Kiba vs. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Let's do this Naruto! I'm gonna win for sure!" The young Inuzuka shouted with all his bluster.

"Yeah right!" Ino barked loudly for everyone to hear, "You've seen Naruto fight with Goku, you haven't got a chance dog breath!"

"Hey!" he managed to grumbled in protest before Yugao cut them all off.

"ENOUGH! Now get on with the fight."

"Let's see what you've got Kiba!" Naruto shouted, "Just know that I'm gonna be Hokage one day, dattebayo!"

The words weren't even out of Naruto's mouth when Kiba rushed him. Naruto had to admit he wasn't nearly as fast as Goku, but what he lacked in speed he made up for in ferocity at close range. He had Naruto backpedaling from the get go, trying to avoid the untrained swings that the Inuzuka was dishing out in anger.

He finished his final punch before following through into a crouched stance that he launched himself out of in a head-butt, slamming straight into Naruto's sternum and knocking him clear off his feet.

Landing and rolling quickly back into a defensive stance Naruto looked up to find Kiba rushing at him again. Peering behind Naruto, you could see that he was standing just in front of the edge of the circle, if he didn't make a move now he'd lose by default, and he sure as hell wasn't letting that happen.

Kiba came at him with a wild right-handed hay-maker that Naruto caught cleanly in his left hand. The sheer shock factor of the move made Kiba freeze, giving Naruto plenty of time to land a solid right hook across his opponent's face, forcing him back. He had momentum now and he didn't lose it, starting with a left jab he followed into a right hay-maker before lashing out with his right leg, landing a solid kick in Kiba's gut. Finally he charged down his opponent, ready to knock him off his feet.

Kiba managed to get his feet under himself and brace for Naruto's next attack, lashing out with his hands to try and deter the redhead. In the end it didn't matter how hard he hit him Naruto followed through and the shoulder charge landed anyway, forcing him to stumble backwards, the breath knocked out of him, and fall outside the bounds of the ring the clear loser of the bout.

"Are you alright Kiba?" Yugao asked out of concern for the young Inuzuka, she didn't want to send anyone to the infirmary but she would if she had to. Naruto could dish out a beating of that she was certain, but what she noted that was remarkable was that he seemed to have an indomitable spirit. After the rather solid hit Kiba landed on him he pulled back from defeat and slammed his opponent, even finishing a charge when taking hits; the kid had guts.

"Yeah I'll survive," the young boy replied shakily as he stood up from where he'd fallen over.

"YAY! Go Naruto!" Ino screamed rather enthusiastically before having to pipe down under the stares of all her female classmates.

Even still, Yugao beckoned for the medic that she'd organized for the day to come and have a look at him. Now that that was settled she decided to call the next match, "Uchiha Sasuke vs. Son Goku." Goku smiled gingerly and began shaking, vibrating even, his blood pumping.

"Hah, what's he afraid of, getting his ass kicked by Sasuke-kun?" Sakura sneered from the sidelines, earning a heated glare from Hinata.

"Actually," Yugao explained. "He's just bubbling with excitement," this shut the pinkette up almost straight away.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at this before he spoke up. "I think you're pretty strong from what I've seen, but I wanna be the strongest so I can make my aniki proud alright? So don't go easy on me or ya won't stand a chance."

Goku could respect that, it was all Naruto and he did it for, well that and it was fun, but he could understand Sasuke's reasons. "Same to you, I wanna get better too so bring it," Goku replied with a grin, getting into a basic Martial Arts stance.

"Fight," Yugao barked, indicating the start of the bout.

Sasuke dashed forward, the signature speed of the Uchiha clearly on display as he lashed out with a clinically precise jab at Goku's ribs before the young Saiyan sidled out of the way.

"You're fast, but I'm still faster!" Goku commented, a gleam in his eye that Yugao had only ever seen when the boy was sparring with Naruto, it was as if his whole demeanor changed when he was in combat, like he was a whole different person.

The Saiyan struck out with his right fist, hitting nothing but air as Sasuke rolled beneath the attack, sweeping his leg out once he'd finished and forcing Goku to retreat.

Now that there was a little space Sasuke had room to charge once again, coming down on Goku swiftly, they exchanged blows that hit nothing but air, each of them moving in sync; a rhythmic fighting that Goku found himself enjoying more and more. His movements became faster and his confidence increased as he dodged the strikes of Sasuke who in turned avoided his punches and kicks; the tempo of the fight increasing rapidly.

Anyone watching was mesmerized by the display that two five year olds were putting on, and the level of their fighting stunned even Yugao. Goku had never done this when he was fighting Naruto, maybe because while Naruto had tenacity, yet the technique wasn't there as he'd rather take a hit to make a hit than avoid strikes. Sasuke was more on level with Goku it would seem, but even this was surprising. It was as if the boy fought only to match his opponent, but when had Goku learnt to fight like this? Maybe the gaki was even better than she thought?

Goku wasn't even thinking by now, he was just moving naturally in whatever way his instincts urged him, as if he were born to fight, as if his sole purpose was combat; hardwired into his muscles and brain. It didn't take long for Sasuke to find his limit. It had only been one-hundred and twenty seconds since the start of the fight but at the pace the two were fighting it was only expected that the young Uchiha be out of breath, his strength fading. Goku however felt he could do more, that he could push past this limit, and that's when he saw Sasuke slip up, not able to sustain the level of fighting when he hardly even felt tired.

However, Sasuke had willpower and used that to keep going, to try to better his brother. Sasuke evaded Goku's jab to the side and caught him off-guard with a low kick. The Saiyan stumbled, and Sasuke tried to go in for the kill, knowing he was fatigued. Elbowing Goku, he then proceeded to palm strike Goku, knocking close to the edge to the point that one more attack would put him out of it.

Just when Sasuke threw the final punch, Goku's eyes flickered with white and an invisible split-second rush of energy coursed through him. He caught Sasuke's fist and twisted around, switching their positions. Sasuke tried escape the Saiyan's grip, but Goku was simply too physical. Sasuke blocked Goku's other fist coming, but couldn't stop his momentum, and with a great shove and kick, Sasuke flew outside of the circle five feet, panting.

Goku was also panting as well, not knowing what the rush of energy was or where it came from. Sasuke stayed put on the ground, moaning in pain and exhaustion on the ground. The Saiyan, seeing his opponent on the ground, decided to help him up.

Sasuke had two stray tears going down his eyes at the pain, and saw his classmate sticking out a hand for him to take. "You okay?" Goku asked, taking Sasuke's hand and pulling him back to his feet, surprising many.

"Y-yeah, just some itty bitty pain, arrgh!" Sasuke shouted, his shoulder in agony. The medic rushed over to Sasuke and ran a quick diagnostic before revealing to everyone else that he'd be okay. "He appears to only have one fractured rib and a pull in his shoulder, any stronger and he could have had a truly serious in-"

"Not in front the others," Yuugao said quickly, cutting off what the medic was about to say, she didn't need the others more frightened or fearful than they were already.

"Hey, I'm just calling it as I see it, anyway he needs rest and treatment. I'll take him to the infirmary," and picking up the boy who cried out in protest, the medic left.

Yuugao looked at the young Saiyan she so adored after months of looking out for him with a worried look on her face, realizing that he wasn't just the little kid she'd become so attached to; there were mysteries about him that no one had the answers to. Like what was that surge of energy that erupted at the end that felt _palpable._

 _'Just what exactly are you Goku?'_ Yuugao couldn't help but think to herself. She'd never seen a child fight like that in her entire life, not with that kind of detachment and precision, nor that kind of power. If she didn't know he wasn't an evil soul she'd be afraid of him, with the kind of power he had, once trained not many people could even hope to stop him.

Goku was being congratulated by Naruto about how awesomely he fought against Sasuke and stuff, while Goku was really concerned about said person he just fought. He never noticed the pair of white eyes following him curiously, nor the girl that they belonged to tilting her head quizzically. She couldn't quite work out what she was seeing with her Byakugan, but if Goku had been a curiosity before, he was truly a mystery to her now.

 _'If only he could teach me how to fight like that, then maybe one day I'd be the one to give my father the bruises and tell him what to do, Neji too,'_ the young Hyuuga thought to herself as she rubbed the welts hidden beneath her grey long-sleeved top.

Naruto had no idea what just happened. Since when could his best friend fight like that? Was Sasuke going to be okay? These were just a few of the questions Naruto found himself worrying over as he walked toward his friend, only to have Yugao put a hand in front of him.

"Just leave him for now, Naruto. I think he needs to be alone," Yugao said with a heavy heart, motioning back toward the class, "besides, you should watch the other boys fight." This was troubling indeed.

Goku had already caused a massive upset within the village higher-ups, and now he'd gone on to hurt the son of a clan leader pretty badly. She wasn't sure what the outcome would be, but she knew she needed to report it as soon as possible. One hand-seal later and at the awe of the children paying attention, she'd sent a **Kage Bunshin** on its way to explain the situation to the Hokage.

Yugao had to put her thoughts of Goku aside and turned Naruto away from the young boy examining himself with wide-eyes, wondering about how dangerous he was to everyone around him. Facing back to the rest of the class, she continued to pair up sparring partners to find out the aptitude of her male students, and to draw the attention of the students away from Goku. Most of them were easily distracted, but Sakura couldn't take her eyes of the boy she had thought was sweet. The boy whom had just hurt Sasuke in combat.

Maybe her mother was right after all? Maybe she should stay away from Naruto and Goku?

Goku was distraught; he'd never wanted to hurt anyone, if anything, he wanted to protect everyone and test his limits. Part of the reason he was fighting was to get stronger so he could protect himself and those close to him from bullies; the bad guys. The other part was to be the best, the strongest he could possibly be. He always pushed himself to the limit, and the result was Sasuke going to the infirmary. Maybe his limits were above Sasuke's? He didn't want to seriously hurt Sasuke, he just wanted to test himself. But what if he can't protect them from himself? He wouldn't fight if it meant his comrades would get injured like that. He just hoped that Sasuke was okay.

"Why are you sad, Goku?" A meek voice asked from right next to him just as he went to wipe away fresh tears.

Turning his head just slightly and moving his hands away from his face, he saw Hinata sitting down, her round lavender eyes peering at him inquisitively, having used the distraction of the remaining bouts to sneak closer to him.

"Because I hurt Sasuke," he mumbled out of character, "and I didn't wanna but I couldn't stop myself."

"But you were amazing Goku, I've never seen someone so young move like that, even my cousin Neji," she drifted off solemnly. "I wish I could move like that," she wanted to tell him everything, to open up to him, to show him her bruises. But would he think she was weak then? She would be strong, but maybe he could help her become stronger.

"I almost really injured him!" Goku said softly shaking his head. "I love to fight, but I never wanna injure someone," he finished, burying his head in his hands.

Hinata frowned, trying to gain the courage she needed to say what she was going to say.

"But if you don't wanna fight to win who will protect me?" She meekly whispered with a somber look on her face. "I mean. I wanna get strong so nobody has to protect me at all! But seeing you fight... I know you could protect me if you wanted," she hoped.

"Protect you from what?" Was she being bullied just like he and Naruto were? "Do people bully you too?"

She remained still for a moment, pain showing on her face before she nodded, and began rolling up her sleeves. Goku couldn't help but go wide-eyed in shock at the number of welts and bruises covering the young girls arms.

"Who did this to you?" He asked, his concern for Hinata now outweighing his self-loathing. He felt his anger rising, the people whom did that must have done a number on her and did it on purpose, making them bad guys.

Just as quickly, she rolled her sleeves back down and looked at the ground. "I c-can't say," she muttered, "Will you still get stronger and fight? So that bad things don't happen to anyone?"

"Heck yeah!" The young Saiyan said, fired up at seeing his friend being abused. However, he still wound up having a few doubts. "But what if I ended up hurting you too?"

"Because I'd like to think you wouldn't hurt anyone to be mean," the Hyuga responded, chuckling.

Yugao turned around just in time to see Goku and the young Hyuga girl talking, and couldn't help but feel warmed. Despite everything that had just happened, at least there was someone else besides Naruto in the class who cared for the strange boy.

"Alright," Yugao spoke up over the rabble that had started when the final boys fight had ended; Chouji had won handily and was just reaching into his bag to celebrate with a pack of chips. "Now that the boys' fights are finished lets see how you little ladies can fight. Sakura and Hanako, you're up first!"

Hanako was, much like the rest of the class, only five years old. She had long dark hair that had a slight wave in it and to prevent it from getting in her way she had it tied in a ponytail. Most would consider her pretty with a small nose and striking blue eyes while she wore a simple blue dress that ended at her knees, black tights and brown sandals.

Sakura was wearing a red ribbon in her hair, a blue sweater, tan pants that ended halfway down her calves and a pair of brown opened toed boots. Hinata decided now would be a good time to leave Goku and go and join the crowd of girls waiting to be tested; it wasn't long after she left that the young boy stood and made his way over to Naruto, his confidence restored.

Sakura and Hanako slowly formed up opposite each other in the ring before their sensei called out, "Fight!" signalling the start of the bout.

In comparison to the boys, the girls may as well have been toddlers. While neither the majority of the boys nor the girls actually had much technique, the boys made up for that with unadulterated ferocity and vigor.

"You can fight now you know," Yugao drawled when after fifteen seconds the girls had only edged a little close to each other; both unsure of themselves.

Sakura finally decided to risk it by stepping forward and kicking out at the midriff of Hanako, and just by chance Hanako managed to get her arms in front of the strike, blocking it. Neither Sakura or Hanako had been expecting the block to actually work and as a result the force of the kick sent them both falling to the ground in a scuffling mess.

"Alright!" Yugao called out, palming her face and shaking her head. "I've seen enough," she finished by muttering under her breath, "You two are going to need some serious work."

For the most part the only girls that had any inclination as to what it was like to fight and could do it with any kind of proficiency were clan members, and with each fight ending quickly it wasn't long until it was time for the final competition.

"Ino and Hinata. I understand you're both from clans, so let's see what you've got," the purple haired sensei said with a smile as she ticked off the last of her class and waited for them to enter the ring.

"Ino is so gonna win," Naruto said to Goku, whom was still a little upset but hid it perfectly. "Go Ino!" he cried out. Goku glanced at Naruto with a competitive look, grinning at the thought of going against him. "Go Hinata!"

Yugao face-palmed and it wasn't long until the two girls, both having been confused by the boy's cheering, were ready to fight, "You can begin."

 _'If Goku isn't going to protect me then I need to get stronger than everyone else,'_ Hinata thought to herself as they both began circling each other.

 _'Naruto did really well, so I just have to win and show him I can be a good ninja too!'_ Ino shouted internally, getting ready for whatever attack Hinata was going to throw at her. Surely Hinata, the meek little girl that hadn't said a thing in class all week, wasn't going to be a threat.

Right?

Wrong.

Hinata blazed forward at Ino. _'I will not fail! If I fail here then what am I worth? I'm useless if I lose to Ino! And Goku believes in me.'_

Driven by her urge to win, to make Goku realize she wasn't useless, and to prove to herself that she could be strong, strong enough to defeat Neji and her father, the Hyuuga of the class came out guns blazing.

Time slowed down for Ino as she watched Hinata approach her, a look of unadulterated rage in her eyes. It didn't matter that Hinata wasn't angry at Ino specifically, she was merely another obstacle, a target to be knocked down.

And so like any animal faced with such a sight Ino had to make a decision.

Fight or Flight?

Her body made the choice for her.

As Hinata closed the gap, lashing out with a flurry of palm strikes Ino relaxed her body, doing her best to dodge and weave her way through them. Whenever she couldn't get out of the way of a strike she merely deflected it as best she could.

It wasn't working though and with each attack Hinata made Ino lost ground, getting clipped here and there by the chakra-less strikes of the young Hyuuga. It was wearing her down and she had to do something about it now, or she'd lose. She'd lose for all to see; for Naruto to see.

Ino used the remaining distance behind her, jumping backwards to just where the ring ended and baiting Hinata to overextend in one of her strikes. What was a jab turned into a lunge and Ino, without conscious thought capitalized on the mistake, knocking the limb out of the way before shouldering Hinata backwards to create space.

And she made sure to use that space.

Following up with a kick that hit a surprised Hinata square in the breast bone she was sent stumbling backwards.

Yet still she was standing, her eyes downcast and her right hand over her chest, where she'd just taken a hit.

 _'I will not lose,'_ Hinata thought as she heard her own strained breathing, and flashes of memory of training sessions with Neji appeared before her eyes. Looking up at him from the ground as he beat her, teaching her to be strong, as her father liked to call it.

"I WILL NOT LOSE!" She cried, her head snapped up and she began sprinting toward the young blonde.

Yugao got the feeling she should stop the fight, but even she was intrigued by the outcome. Ino stepped forward, standing her ground in a defensive stance, she wasn't going to lose in front of everyone, not to Hinata. Hinata got closer, and now Ino was sure she could get the drop on her, she only needed to step into the attack and she could throw Hinata to the ground.

Only Hinata jumped, of all the reckless things she could have done, she jumped.

Ino tried to take a back step, to get away from the reckless attack, but her previous attempts at setting up worked against her, and so, almost as if it were in slow motion Hinata's fist made clean contact with her face, knocking her out instantly and sending her rag-dolling towards the ground.

The young black haired girl herself hit the ground with a roll and stood, turning to see the damage she'd inflicted to find Ino sprawled on the ground, blood seeping into the dirt from where her fist had, with the help of Ino's cheekbone, cut into her face. Now that she was once again aware of exactly what was going on she simply swallowed any feeling she had at all and walked out of the ring, back toward the classroom, hiding the look of sadness on her face.

 _'What the hell is wrong with these kids!'_ Yugao screamed to herself as she rushed over to find Ino still unconscious on the ground, the cut on her face bleeding rather profusely. Picking her up in one motion she looked gravely at everyone in the yard, "Go and wait inside."

They didn't argue.

She disappeared in a **Shunshin**.

A well dressed Hyuga sitting on a bench in a nearby street, his head buried behind the same magazine he'd been supposedly reading all week, had a lot to report to Hiashi.

 _ **-At The End of Class-**_

"So Hinata," Goku muttered, surprising the young girl who had just exited the academy. Before she could reply he continued, "I'll protect you from anything, be there for you and help ya train, it's the promise of a lifetime!"

Her tense posture softened a little, but she didn't return conversation or bother making eye contact; if she was seen talking to him she'd definitely have to train with Neji again. When he realized he wasn't getting a response he continued,

"But why were you so harsh with Ino? Surely you didn't need to be so violent?"

He thought he heard a response, the lightest of whispers as she walked away to her escort, "Neither did you."

And the conversation ended at that.

As Goku was about to leave, the doors to the academy opened and an injured Sasuke Uchiha came limping through the threshold with an older boy next to him in blue track pants, a simple white t-shirt, and black sandals. He was tall and lean with black eyes and straight black hair.

Itachi had been resting when the shadow clone from one of the Hokage's bodyguards delivered him the message. His brother had been injured in an academy training fight it read; the damage having been inflicted by Goku. And so without wasting a second Itachi had been at the scene, wearing only what he had been sleeping in. He spent most of the day sitting next to his younger brother's bed as he rested.

"Sasuke," Goku said nervously in Itachi's presence, "I didn't wanna hit you as hard as I did, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just tell me," Sasuke asked, shaking his head and wincing with the pain of talking, Itachi just watching the exchange. "How did you get so strong?"

"I-I don't know, I just train with Naruto everyday. And my Ojiisan also taught me martial arts when he was still alive," Goku replied, confused at the response of the Uchiha, whatever he expected it hadn't been for Sasuke to ask him how he got so strong.

"Can I train with you when I'm better then?" Sasuke was determined to get stronger than Itachi. If it meant having to train with the same boy that had injured him pretty good then so be it.

"But I don't wanna hurt you again!" Goku cried, but then he smirked. "You're a great fighter though and I would do it, but only if you were able."

"You won't," Sasuke smirked; he needed a challenge, "I'd prepare if I were you, because next time I'll beat you."

Before they could continue, Itachi spoke up. "Come on Otouto, let's go home," the older boy leading the limping younger one back to the compound.

Out of earshot of the young Saiyan Itachi turned to Sasuke. "I know me telling you to not go near that boy will do nothing to assuage you or make you change your mind, so I'll simply say this. Be careful Sasuke."

"I will, don't worry. And don't tell father I was injured big brother. I don't want him thinking that I'm some weakling."

Itachi nodded, glad that he didn't have to tell Sasuke not to tell their father. If Fugaku found out that Goku had hit his son hard enough to the point of a broken rib and torn ligament in his shoulder, Itachi was unsure of what the man might do.

Goku made his way back over to Naruto and they walked to their apartment by themselves, chatting on about the day itself.


	4. Revelations and Harsh Decisions

_Chapter 4: Revelations and Harsh Decisions_

* * *

 _ **-With Sakura-**_

"Um, mommy?" Sakura mumbled, unsure of herself. They'd just arrived home; their dwelling being a rather humble affair.

"Yes sweetie?" Mebuki turned to her beautiful pink haired daughter who was beginning to fidget nervously.

Sakura hesitated before continuing, her thoughts drifting to the events of the day and the sheer violence of it all; Kiba being sent to the infirmary, Sasuke in pain on the ground and Ino, her face cut and bleeding into the soil. "I'm not sure if I wanna be a ninja anymore."

Now this came as a shock. Originally it had been Sakura that had been so excited and driven towards leading the life of a shinobi. Mebuki hadn't wanted such a dangerous life for her precious little girl and had been upset when they'd enrolled her. Now it might just be that she wouldn't lose her beautiful Sakura to the life at such a young age.

"That's okay," she spoke softly, comforting the young girl with a hug. "There are other things you can grow up to be," pulling out of the hug and looking her daughter in the eyes she continued. "How sure are you?"

Sakura then began to think about the friends she'd made and the people that she liked that she probably wouldn't see very often if she dropped out of the academy. "Not very. It's so very violent, bu-but I don't wanna lose my friends," she muttered.

"Violent? But it's only your first month, what do you mean? What happened?" the questions came fast, startling the young girl. But she had to know, why in the world would the academy be too violent. They were only five after all!

"Well Yugao-Sensei had us spar to see how good we were, so she knew who needed the most help. Some people got hurt. Goku hit Sasuke-kun so hard it left him in a lot of pain. I heard the medic say he had a broken rib and torn ligament in his shoulder," Mebuki gasped. "And Hinata hit Ino so hard that she was knocked out and left bleeding," the young girl swallowed uncomfortably and cringed. "There was a lots of it."

A look of outrage passed her mother's face before her eyes narrowed, "This Goku, was he the boy that was with Naruto on the street?"

Sakura nodded nervously.

"I knew I recognized the name," she snarled before quickly snapping back to reality and returning her focus to her daughter, "It's going to be okay darling. I think it might be best if you don't return to the academy either."

"Bu-but that's not what I said," Sakura tried to protest.

"We will discuss this with your father," she replied offhandedly. Mebuki had a lot more people to tell, that wasn't up for debate; people needed to hear about this.

 _ **-In The Council Room-**_

Yugao looked around the room at the serious faces. After what had happened today the Hokage had called a meeting with the small council.

Inoichi looked distracted, almost as if his mind were elsewhere, Shikaku's gaze was focused intently on her however, and Itachi had sat himself down with a grave look; the young agent clearly worried about his brother. The elder council still didn't have much of an idea about what else had happened, but as she explained the events of the day to everyone present their expressions grew darker.

The first to speak after she'd finished her report was Shikaku. "So, it surely won't be long before Fugaku finds out that Goku injured his boy. And no doubt this story will spread throughout the village. This is troublesome indeed. We do not need Fugaku creating a scene trying to make Goku pay. Especially if it wasn't intentional as you say."

"How could it have been unintentional," the elder councilwoman in Koharu asked. "You don't accidentally hit someone so hard you break a rib in a simple spar!"

She paused and Yugao took the chance to interject. "He was regretful as soon as it happened. Goku even helped Sasuke up and asked him a zillion times if he was okay. The boy didn't want to hurt him, he just wanted a good spar that would test his limits."

Inoichi looked up from his thoughts, "Hmm, so either he was put under a Genjutsu, or…" he drifted off, thinking of another explanation.

An explanation the Hokage offered, "Or fighting comes so naturally that he didn't even have to think about it."

Now Yugao was curious, "But if that's the case why hasn't it happened with Naruto before? They fight all the time."

He thought for a second, his hands resting together contemplatively, fingertips touching. "It might just be because of Naruto's erratic and unpredictable fighting style, where as I imagine Sasuke fights with a rigid and practiced method. And it might be we haven't noticed his strength because Naruto has a fast healing factor for specific reasons that makes up for sheer durability. I'm only postulating here mind you, but..."

Shikaku decided to interrupt; this was after all a council of free discussion and everyone's opinion was equally valid. "If everyone of his race are natural fighters or brawlers, and a five year old boy can do that at this point in time, then what we keep uncovering is more frightening every day."

"Exactly Shikaku," the Hokage sighed. "This boy is trouble without end but I see no alternative action but to stay our current course. It might be wise to have him do physical training with a Jonin or someone of that caliber to gauge his abilities. Having him train with the others may have already caused damage to village relations that is irreparable. We don't need to exacerbate it."

"Who were you thinking Hokage-sama?" Yugao asked, quietly hoping she'd get to train the young boy herself.

The wizened leader picked up on that straight away, "I'm sorry Yugao, but that's not the greatest idea. It would be best if you were to continue teaching Naruto and Goku in the academy, I'll find someone else to train and gauge his physicality."

"There is another thing I'd like to bring up then," the ANBU turned academy teacher said softly. "It's not related directly to Goku but," she hesitated for the briefest of moments. "Hinata of the Hyuga clan has been acting strangely. She was so driven to inflict damage upon Ino today, and she seems to have injuries she is hiding underneath her clothes. I'm worried there is something happening to her at home."

"There is not much I can do, but I'll look into it," Hiruzen replied, turning his attention to Inoichi, "I'm sorry your daughter suffered such an injury,"

Inoichi nodded silently; his daughter's wound would haunt her, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

"If that is all, you are dismissed," Hiruzen had a lot to think about, and Danzou's lack of usual input hadn't gone unnoticed.

 _ **-Later With Kakashi-**_

The Anbu captain known as Kakashi recently received word to help Goku train and learn about his unknown capabilities physically. Maybe even learn how to draw out that unknown energy of his that's inside of his body. Everyone was curious about him and he was going to find out right now.

The Anbu landed on the ground in front of Naruto and Goku, making both kids jump back a bit. "Hello," The man said blankly, "I've been assigned by the Hokage to give you both some pointers in your training for today."

"Awesome!" Goku and Naruto shouted, both eager to get lessons from a professional.

"Good, shall we get started?" The silver-haired shinobi received nods from both of them, and grinned inside his mask. Their enthusiasm would make it much easier for him to train them and observe Goku's abilities.

 _ **-Twenty Minutes Later-**_

Naruto could be seen pelting sharp metal objects through the air, struggling to find the target strapped to the tree. Goku couldn't help but smile as he watched on with Kakashi. His young best-friend had a look of pure concentration plastered on his face, his countenance only breaking to reveal frustration when his throw missed, which happened a lot.

"He's a horrible shot isn't he?" Kakashi muttered, causing Goku to jump, having not heard him approach.

"Hey! I heard that," Naruto spun, pointing a kunai at Kakashi, "You only gave me these ten minutes ago how do you expect me to be good at this?"

"I don't, that's why you need to practice." He replied with a eye-smile. "You two are going to have to join in the ranks of shinobi right? Well then get used to it," he said with a slightly raised voice.

Naruto growled, pelting another kunai at the tree.

"Goku, do you want to have a try at throwing those kunai? You'll have to learn sometime and I want to know what you can do," he said as he urged him to have a go at.

"I guess?" He shrugged, "I don't really wanna use weapons."

"Naruto, give Goku a kunai and lets see if he can hit the tree," he said, beckoning the young redhead back over to them.

"Finneeeee," the redhead whined, even though he was excited to see how Goku would do.

Once Naruto had handed over the pouch of ninja tools the two of them backed away from Goku, giving him the room he needed. He stood roughly 40 feet from the tree. Not a long throw by any means, but he'd never thrown a metal object like a kunai before.

"Okay, just relax and focus on your target. Think about the flight of the kunai and the satisfaction of hitting the tree," he relayed to the young boy in an almost relaxing manner, "There is only you and the target, hit it as hard as you can."

With those words Goku's concentration focused to a single point, the dead center of the target on the tree. The sound of Kakashi's voice faded and he felt his muscles tense. Only him and the tree.

His hand reached back, his body flexed and with the hand-eye coordination of a trained warrior, he loosed the kunai without conscious thought. Thinking back on it, the young boy wouldn't be capable of describing the sensation. As if the world had fallen away from around him and it would be impossible to miss. An intent focus that felt eerily familiar to the kind he had experienced in his fight with Sasuke.

The kunai impacted the tree with so much force that it ripped straight through the target and the tree itself, going through a few more trees behind it at a constant pace until it finally stopped on the sixth tree behind the first.

After the kunai made contact with the tree target, the sounds of the world returned and he could hear Naruto. "Whoa! You hit the middle on your first try and went straight through it! What a fluke!"

Kakashi was wide-eyed, he'd thrown that kunai with the precision and force of someone extremely beyond his years and training. The boy possessed immense physical strength for his age, rivaling the brute force of a decent chunin thus far. "Yeah, must have been a fluke," he agreed.

The Anbu could see the kunai jutting from the center of the target... six trees down the line. Proud of the marksmanship he'd displayed; disturbed that he ripped through the trees as if it were wet paper. What exactly is that boy?

Kakashi sighed, already having plenty to report to his leader. "Alright kids, let's finish up the very basics of Chakra. I've been notified that Yugao has already taught you how to bring out Chakra, but you all haven't completed it yet. So let's correct that shall we?"

"Awww man," Naruto whined, "I'm never going to get this stuff. It's too hard!"

"That's why you need practice. Now try it again," he commanded, "I don't have to tell Goku twice."

"Fine," the young boy huffed.

Kakashi noted that Goku appeared to be struggling much more than Naruto was, maybe due to the fact the boy had a different type of energy.

"Okay," he spoke calmly. "Naruto, just focus on the energy within. Try and draw it out, don't be too impatient, you'll know the feeling when it's there."

"I can't do it!" He complained, pouting, "I just keep getting pins and needles."

"Goku, you work on it alone for a bit, I'm going to help Naruto first as his case is simpler." Goku nodded as the Anbu moved over to sit in front of Naruto placing his gloves around his as he held them in the ram seal.

"This is what chakra feels like," he brought chakra forward to his hands and they were enclosed in a blue glow, allowing him to let Naruto get another feel of the strange substance. "Now draw that same feeling from within your body, bring it to your hands then relax."

His eyes went from scrunched to slightly tense as he did his best to relax and mentally search his body, trying to draw the power from within.

THERE! He'd found the feeling. He grabbed onto his inner energy with all the willpower he could muster and it began to slip away.

"Remember Naruto, relax and draw out the power calmly," he heard Kakashi say.

Relaxing once again he felt his grip on his energy solidify and he was able to guide his own chakra to his fingertips. He felt Kakashi let go of his hands and was afraid for just a moment before he realized he had it under control.

"Now open your eyes," he said blankly, and he followed the Anbu's command, eyes drifting toward the pale blue glow that was surrounding his hands. "WHOOPEE!" He cried in excitement, his concentration breaking and the chakra fading, but he'd done it. He'd finally done it and now it would be easier for him to do it again.

Goku was still struggling to draw his own energy out, not even feeling a pulse from doing the ram seal. Just what the hell was his energy then?

Moving over to sit in front of his black haired charge, who also had his eyes closed concentrating, the Anbu spoke. "Ready for me to help?"

Once again he was startled, but he nodded in earnest. "Good. The energy will feel much different, but I'm going to channel my Chakra into your hands so you can get a feel of what it's like while searching for your energy. It might not be the same, but it still might help. Hopefully we can get it done just like Naruto. Just make sure to focus but be relaxed, much like with the kunai or in a spar," he nodded again as Kakashi placed his chakra charged hands over Goku's.

He delved into the mass of feeling that was his body, searching for his center, for his well of energy, trying to find a way to bring it out, to focus it at the ram seal, much like Naruto had now succeeded doing. And then he stopped. He needed to relax. Stopping all active thought he sat, meditating for a fraction of a second without conscious effort, and he felt it. That small tug. That tiny opening into a galaxy of power. He was unsure how he'd missed it previously. Now that he knew what it felt like, he was unsure how he'd had such trouble in locating such a pivotal part of himself. He felt the warmth of the power, the enormity of it and he began to channel a portion of it to his fingertips. He realized no seal was needed to acquire his power, it ran everywhere inside his body, easily accessible.

He liked the feeling of the energy, it was warm, comforting even, while at the same time it felt very dangerous and unrestrained, extreme. "Goku, you can stop now, you did it," his voice came through with curiosity laced through. He had a confused look on his face while Naruto stared at him with a look of wonder.

It was clearly evident why.

Sitting above his fingertips was a ball of glowing yellow light about the size of a small dinner plate. The size of his creation startled him and he accidentally focused more power, doubling the size of the orb. Goku spread his arms out, not used to what he had in his palms. The orb of energy stayed the same size but shifting sporadically, dangerously unrestrained. "What am I s'posed to do with this?!"

Kakashi stood back, observing with his Sharingan eye in the stillness of the night. The energy he saw wasn't chakra at all, no it was pure potent energy. He only heard of five people in history that had similar energy to this: Muten Roshi, Muten Shen, Mercenary Tao, Gohan, and Piccolo Daimao. All of them were legends and the last two were deceased by his knowledge, and he never met the others. And he couldn't recall what their energy was called, but it started with a K.

Goku then turned afraid, he didn't know what to do with this energy, and he was scared, terrified that he would hurt himself and the people closest to him. That fear was enough for him to lose control.

"Get outta here!" Goku called the instant before the explosion. The orb of energy exploded in a blinding flash of light. The Hatake immediately grabbed Naruto after he was impacted by the explosion and left with a **Shunshin**. The force of impact easily knocked out the redhead and gave him a few injuries to boot.

The sheer terror of the situation was what kept the young Saiyan from barely feeling a thing as he himself was thrown in the opposite direction. Everything had seemed to happen in slow motion at first. He slammed through a tree and then throughout multiple trees, the pain of the ordeal masked by the fear and confusion as he was spent spiraling out of control. Nor did Goku really feel the splinters and gashes he gained as he continued through the air, or the ground as he came to a tumbling stop beneath the tree he and Naruto had playfully been practicing on earlier a few nights before.

He couldn't see what became of Naruto and the Anbu guy. He just hoped that they were okay. The young boy from another world then let his vision fade and he fell unconscious; the blare of a siren signaling a fire within the village the last sound he heard before blacking out, hidden beneath the forestry.

 _ **-The Next Day-**_

Goku awoke to the sight of a young man with brown hair wearing a strange headband similar to the one he'd see every time he looked up at the Hokage monument. It resembled the Nidaime's in almost every aspect. His thoughts then trailed back to the most recent occurrence in his life, the accidental discovery of his hidden pool of energy.

The smoldering training, the outburst accidentally reaching Uchiha territory. He sat up as quickly as he could, no attention paid to the abrasions his arms had sustained, the scratches littered on his legs, nor the bruise on his shoulder. He didn't have time to worry, he had to reach Naruto. The Anbu noted his resolve, and had to admit, the boy was very tough and resilient for his age to agony.

Bolting into an upright position and taking a step to sprint away in an effort to get to them, he found the strange man had a firm grasp on his shoulder.

"It's okay Goku," he said calmly. "He's been taken to the hospital, I had Senpai take him there when I arrived last night."

"The hospital! Is he okay?" Goku asked immediately his eyes wide with concern.

"As far as I can tell he'll be fine, although the ground near the Uchiha compound is destroyed, even ripping through parts of a civilian home," he said with a sad smile before adding, "I'm Tenzou by the way. Can you walk? We should probably get over to the hospital to get you wrapped up and see how Naruto is doing."

"Of course I can," Goku said simply before taking a step. He wasn't feeling too bad at all; he only hoped the same for Naruto. The boy even felt a tinge stronger and more capable than yesterday for some odd reason. They walked around the side of the house and towards the street, the older and taller of the pair moving over to another masked Anbu and whispering in his ear.

As Goku waited for him his eyes drifted, taking in the scene. A large crowd of concerned citizens had gathered around the now smoldering and partially destroyed home. The outer walls of the house that the explosion had occurred had been completely obliterated and half the floor was missing as if a tornado struck that corner of the house. The people were kept back by a number of masked ninja that had begun to cordon of the affected area of the explosion. Within the crowd Goku saw the faces of the concerned; wondering what misfortune could have befallen the residents of the home.

He heard through the idle chatter a shinobi replying to questions. "An unfortunate gas explosion; this is what happens when you forget to turn the gas off. Luckily everyone seems to be okay. There's nothing more to see here."

There were those in the crowd who bought it, and a few who didn't. Goku noticed a stoic man that looked like Sasuke's brother with a grave expression, two red eyes and black hair, and he wasn't having a bar of that explanation.

Tenzou then walked back over to him and took him by the arm, guiding him in the direction of the hospital. Tenzou hadn't said a word to Goku as they made their way across the village, away from the incident. The remaining ANBU on the scene had dealt with anything that would risk a fire and roped off the scene of the explosion for investigation, leaving two ANBU on guard.

After walking in and getting Goku numerous bandages for his injuries, they proceeded to the room. It was of course the room with two masked guards standing watch outside. The ANBU paid them no attention as they walked past to stand in the doorway, looking into the well-lit room. The Hokage could be seen turning his head and shifting his gaze toward the two new arrivals.

It was a solemn sight indeed. Naruto was sleeping, his head and upper body wrapped in bandages, while a consistent ominous beeping emanated from the large complicated looking machine next to him. Though he appeared to be in much better shape than yesterday already, he must have healed very quickly.

Goku didn't know what to do. He had caused this; he was responsible for this damage, for destroying the grounds near the Uchiha and for injuring Naruto. The Saiyan lowered his head in shame and guilt, ready to own up to his actions. "I'm sorry."

Hiruzen glanced at him, having heard the full story from Kakashi last night after the incident, "It's okay, we know it was an accident in training."

"Is Naruto gonna be okay?" Goku asked.

"Yes," Hiruzen replied quickly to assuage the boy's concerns, "The medics think he will make a full recovery very soon, don't worry about it any longer. He will be fine," he said with a smile.

The boy nodded and sat next to his injured best-friend. A stern look from Tenzou was enough to get the Hokage to promptly exit the room and the silhouette of the Mokuton user was replaced by one of the faceless ANBU guards that had been standing at attention outside.

"So, how bad is it?" Hiruzen asked quietly once they were outside the room and subsequently out of earshot of the boys.

"We're going with a gas explosion as the cause for the damage for the civilians and it is quiet extensive. From the damage alone I'm surprised that Naruto is in a very stable condition right now and steadily healing. How extensive are his injuries?" Tenzou reported matter-of-factly. He needed to maintain his composure and allowing emotions any room for thought at a time like this was unsuitable for a shinobi of his standing.

"He's suffered a number of broken ribs, a torn chest ligament and a concussion. However, many of those broken ribs are already healed and the ligament repaired as well, thanks to you know what. He'll be out of the hospital by tomorrow it seems. Was there anything else of importance to report? You've not had a moments rest in days so if there is nothing more for you to say, go home and sleep."

"There is one thing," Tenzou added gravely, "Uchiha Fugaku was in the crowd, and he didn't look impressed. He clearly didn't buy the cover story."

The Hokage sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Right," he paused thinking before exhaling again, "You did well, now go, rest."

Tenzou merely nodded before briskly making his way down the hall and onto the stairwell. The Hokage strolled back into the hospital room with a warm smile on his face and sat down next to the boys; sleeping would do him no good, there was too much on his mind. He needed a solution to his problems and he needed it now.

 _ **-The next morning at the Ninja Academy-**_

"Did you hear that there was a gas explosion near the Uchiha district last night?"

"There was a huge explosion, I wonder who was in it?"

"I hope nobody was hurt!"

These were just a few of the phrases that Hinata had been greeted with upon entering the academy classroom. With a sinking feeling in her gut she had quickly searched for Naruto and Goku but to no avail. If they didn't arrive soon they'd both be late for the first class of the day!

She'd remained hopeful until Yugao-sensei had arrived and stood before the class, an announcement to be made.

"It seems news travels fast in Konoha," she'd said with a level tone. "So I will inform you all that there was indeed a gas explosion last night and that two of your classmates were unfortunately caught within the blast. Naruto and Goku will not be att-"

The class immediately erupted in murmurs before Yugao could finish her sentence and Hinata had trouble holding back her sobs at the realization that her friends may well be gone; that Goku might be gone forever.

Ino was the first to speak up load enough over the dull roar that she could be heard. "Are they alright?" She yelled in concern, causing the rest of the class to cease their discussion in hopes of hearing an answer.

Only it was Sasuke that replied first. "Of course they're gonna be okay. They're too strong to be beaten by a simple explosion," he said matter-of-factually. There was no way anyone whose strength he wanted to acquire for himself could be defeated so easily.

Yugao nodded to second this before reiterating to the rest of the class the exact situation. "Yes, as Sasuke says, they are going to be okay, they just need to rest and heal up, so they may not be back at the academy for a few days."

Ino and Hinata both released the breath they were holding with pronounced sighs and the tension in the room lessened. Comparatively Sasuke just huffed, mumbling, "They better get better soon, I need to train with them if I'm gonna get any stronger."

 _ **-Otogakure Hideout – Location Unknown-**_

Orochimaru dispelled the snake summon that had just relayed Kabuto's report of Konoha. It appeared things were getting interesting. From what Kabuto had to report about clan sentiment Konoha was on the verge of becoming very unstable and this child, Goku, the one that had caused such destruction, he was very interesting indeed. He might be the perfect potential host.

The snake Sannin grinned eagerly; barely able to contain his excitement.

 _ **-Three Months following the Goku** **Explosion Event in Council Chambers-**_

It was the only time the inner council members were available to meet. And so with tired eyes each of them sat to discuss the matter of Goku. Around the table sat Hiruzen, Inoichi, Ibiki, Shikaku, Koharu, Homura, and Danzo.

"As you're no doubt aware by now there have been six recent incidents with Goku, and I've seen it fit to remove him from the equation for the foreseeable future."

"Removed him from the equation Hokage-sama?" Shikaku asked cautiously.

"Yes, in the light of all the events, starting with his injuring Sasuke during class training and the explosion near the Uchiha Compound. Coupled with four attempts at his life, one of them coming from spies resident to Iwagakure. The aura of dilemma and trouble that surrounds him is causing unrest inside the village, and the tensions between us and the Uchiha clan have increased to a hazardous degree. We have reason to believe a coup made to take over the village could come into effect in the future. I've assigned Jiraiya to take him to Muten Roshi's island."

Danzo scoffed, "Not the most responsible person to leave the child with."

Hiruzen glared across the table, "As I was saying, I've left Goku in the care of Roshi-sama for five years so that when he came back it would be nine months before the graduation exam. And Naruto's been assigned to live with Kakashi from this point on until Goku returns; both of them should be able to fend for themselves at that point. I've sent Goku away to calm down the village, and you know as well as I do that Roshi-sama is as reliable as they come, he won't let any harm come to the boy. And he can train Goku onto how to use his energy."

"This is ridiculous," Danzo said, "you sent a powerful, unstable, and unknown entity, one that could very well be an asset to train outside the village with Roshi while things cool down. We could have just put him somewhere secluded and out of the way for a while. Why risk losing a very powerful asset?"

"He might be an asset as you say," Hiruzen replied with a heavy sigh, "but he is also a child. I was trying to maintain some sort of normality for them. Leaving him with Roshi-sama was a prime opportunity I saw and I took it. He can also provide some insight into Goku's potential and train him up. Locking them away for the time being would provide no such insight."

Danzo grimaced, "Well I know one way we could find out what the kid's made of."

Hiruzen's gaze was cold as he stared Danzo down, an uncomfortable silence brewing until Shikaku spoke up.

"Fugaku isn't pleased to hear about Goku injuring his son during class, and the explosion has drawn more attention to the boy. That's why many attempts on Goku have occurred in the first place. It's likely normality is not in the cards at this point. However, I see nothing wrong with leaving him with Roshi-sama. It might be a wise choice to get him away from the village, with what's been going on. Although I'm still unsure what action we should take once he returns. The other clan-heads are likely going to be very uneasy with the arrangement once Fugaku is finished talking with them, and I can assure you it is in his nature to do so."

Hiruzen leaned forward onto the table and sighed, "Yes, I know things will have to change."

"We either need to remove Goku from the public eye, or inform the clan-heads of all the details, probably both. No doubt by now they realize they've been left out of the loop and they won't be happy about it." Inoichi said, adding to the discussion, "normally I'd say leave it be, but Goku has been interacting with their children and we need to learn more about just exactly what he's capable of. We know he can use his type of energy to make orbs, but what else can he do?"

Koharu and Homura both nodded in agreement.

"We have to agree. This boy is causing too much trouble and we must deal with him accordingly. He might be a child, but he's an unknown, and we don't need him making anymore waves," Koharu said. Hiruzen looked defeated. He knew what he had to do, even though he loathed the thought of it.

"You're right. With everything that's happened it would be foolish to keep playing with fire. When the boy returns to the village he will still attend the academy, but that's all. It's best if most of Konoha forgets that he exists until he's ready to join the world of the Shinobi. On another note, has any progress been made with the technology recovered from the crash-site?"

"Not yet. We've been taking our time to make sure we don't miss anything, but so far no significant advances. We're only scratching the surface though, and the technology is hard to comprehend. It is very far out of our league, and we're letting the people of Capsule Corp take a look at it," Inoichi said.

"Well don't give up just yet. With nothing else to discuss pertaining to the boy this meeting is adjourned," Hiruzen said, watching as the shinobi in the room stood to leave.

He walked solemnly back to his office, knowing what he had to do and yet not wanting to do it. He had a responsibility to his people, and he knew that even though Goku was an innocent child, he was still a danger to others. It would have to be done. He just hoped Naruto would learn to still live happily after Goku departs from the village for a long while.

 **-With The Gallant Jiraiya-**

He quickly made his way across the village, shifting to the rooftops once the attention they were receiving from passers-by began to irk the legendary shinobi. Today was not the day to be asking for autographs.

It didn't take long for him to reach the Hokage building and he quickly scaled the side, perching himself in the window to look at the tired Hokage sitting at his desk, a man whose age was showing on his face much more these days.

Hearing the disturbance at his window Hiruzen looked up with a raised eyebrow, surprise showing on his face.

"Normally news of your arrival reaches me before you do," the Hokage said with a small grin.

"Yeah well normally I'm not in a hurry," Jiraiya replied, as he got comfortable in the window, resting his back against the frame.

"And why would that be?" the Hokage asked, his fingers steepled on the desk in front of him.

"Because I had a feeling something was very wrong and I'd heard there had been a rampage on the village some time ago."

"An attack no, but something is very wrong and your timing could not have been more appropriate; you are just the person I need," Hiruzen paused for a moment to raise an eyebrow at his former student. "Although I didn't expect you to be so prompt in your return. How goes the hunt?" he queried.

"As always, the trail is cold. Now get to the point old man. What is it you need me to do?" Jiraiya grumbled; he didn't need the reminder of his failure to bring his old friend turned enemy to justice.

"There's a boy currently practicing his kata's in training ground 21 being monitored. I need you to take him out of the village and escort him to Muten Roshi's island. So that things here die do-,"

"I'm not going to be some baby-sitter or escorter Ojii-san, I've got my own problems to deal with right now in the name of tracking Orochimaru and the Akatsuki."

Jiraiya paused to think for but a moment, "Anyways, who is the brat and why is he the cause of all your problems?"

"Well, he's the cause of all sorts of trouble. I fear the stability of the village with each passing council meeting and I need him out of harms way and prying eyes for a long while," the terse look on the Hokage's face was enough to convince Jiraiya that he needed to help, but he wasn't doing so without information.

"What's so special about one kid, it's not like we've had another Jinchuuriki just fall into our laps is it? That's just ridiculous," the Sannin chuckled at his own joke before ceasing his laughter at the rather serious look on his sensei's face, "You've got to be kidding right?"

"Oh he's more trouble than a Jinchuuriki but for a bunch of different reasons. Now come in and sit down, I've got a lot to fill you in on, and I don't want you falling out of that window in shock."

Once Jiraiya was seated the Hokage began to speak in earnest about the arrival of Goku and everything that happened surrounding the Saiyan.

 **-Three Days Later With Goku and Sasuke after the Academy-**

The six year-old Saiyan was busy enjoying himself in a good spar with Sasuke. His red-haired best friend had decided to go eat some Ramen, while Sasuke challenged him again. So far, it appeared that the Uchiha trained a little harder since the last spar and it paid off. Currently, the Saiyan evaded another kick and diverted a jab with his left palm. That however left the Saiyan's left side exposed and with speed, the Uchiha landed a roundhouse kick at the side of his rib cage.

"Good one," Goku regarded, wincing a bit and rolling over, "but not enough!" The Saiyan pushed himself off the ground and crossed his arms, blocking most of Sasuke's punches. The Uchiha then reeled back for a kick that the Saiyan ducked under, and was swept off the ground with a low kick.

Hitting the ground and groaning, he banged his fist against the ground and got up, catching Goku's speedy fist with difficulty. Though he had gotten somewhat stronger and faster in 3 months, Goku was still a lot more physically adept than he was.

Goku reeled back quickly and brought up his knee, making Sasuke jerk to the right. The six year-old Goku grinned, seeing an easy opening and not afraid to take it. He lunged himself at Sasuke with an elbow, connecting with his chest. However, the Uchiha took the hard blow like a champ and spun off of it.

Although he was in some pain, the raven-haired human saw Goku go by him and connected with a quick jab to the face. This made the Saiyan go off balance and hit the ground hard, but when Sasuke leaped he thrust his feet out and knocked him back down to the ground. Goku and Sasuke grinned to themselves, enjoying the spar for what it was. However, having went on a good three minutes, Sasuke was spent. Though Goku knew he could do more, he respected the Uchiha's limits.

"That was some good training Goku, thanks a bunch!" Sasuke exclaimed, pushing himself up to his feet, panting, "But I'll win the next one for sure."

"I dunno about that, but that was fun!" Goku responded, cheerful as usual, "But ya won't get the chance for awhile, sadly."

"Whaddaya mean 'for awhile'?!" The Uchiha asked, alarmed. One of his two best training partners he could find was leaving, for awhile?! How was he ever supposed to surpass his brother, he knew he had Naruto but he wasn't a Goku. The Saiyan had been the one to challenge him the most of the two, and now he was leaving?

"Yeah, it sucks but I hafta leave for a long time for a weird thing. Just know I'ma get stronger, so be ready when I comeback!" Goku stated, saluting to the Uchiha, "Oh yeah, tell em I'll be gone for awhile but I'll return some time."

"Sure, it's the least I can do," Sasuke said, smirking, "But ya better train hard or else I'll leave ya in the dust." With a fist bump, the two comrades left each other to go in opposite directions.

 **-Later on with Goku-**

"Naruto, I'm gonna leave in a few minutes," Goku said, reminding the redhead, whom was solemn.

"I know," Naruto stated, a gloomy gleam in his eye. The redhead's best-friend and surrogate brother will be leaving soon over some stupid reason. He knew that he still had Sasuke, but life still wouldn't be the same without Goku.

"Hey, cheer up will ya!" Goku exclaimed, wanting to break his friend out of his slight depression. "I'm sad too, I wanna cry too, but orders are orders. I won't really leave you, I'm just going away for awhile. Your life ain't over, you can still have fun! When I comeback I'll needa strong guy to spar with, so train up."

With that said, the redhead started to cheer up a little, but he still had his doubts. "But life won't be the same, with you gone and all," Naruto claimed, making the Saiyan sigh in exasperation.

"We all hafta do this someday, we won't always be together, but we're still bro's right?" The ebony haired boy asked, putting his fist out.

This made Naruto cheer back up completely, and he bumped his fist against Goku's. "You're right, bro's forever! I'll still miss ya though."

"Me too Naruto," the Saiyan said as they hugged for three seconds, smiles on their faces. "See ya later! And when I return ya better be ready!"

"Same here," the redhead responded cheerfully, running off as well. "When you return I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Goku ran down the street at maximum speed, passing a startled Hinata with a wave and a "sayonara", making her blush. Though she was confused about that, she still blushed a little at being acknowledged like that. However, that would then turn into outright puzzlement, and unknowingly it would turn into anger later.

Reaching the gate in three minutes flat, the boy halted at the sight of Jiraiya, glancing up at the white-haired man.

"Are ya ready to depart?" Jiraiya queried, receiving a nod from the person he's escorting to the island to Hi no Mizu.

"Alright, let's go gaki."

And that would be the last time Goku ever saw Konohagakure for over five straight years.


	5. Life Outside of Konohagakure

_Chapter 5: Life Outside of Konoha_

* * *

 **-A Week Into The Journey-**

"What're we doing today Ero-Sannin?" Goku asked, smiling at the little tick mark forming on Jiraiya's forehead. "And are there yet?"

"Yes, we're here ya little gaki, but nothing's here for us yet besides that turtle coming towards us. Anyways, we're gonna be doing something different today, kid. I want you to show me what you've been taught already in straight Taijutsu." He crouched down and pat the boy on the head, "Can you do that for me?"

"You know it!" The boy yelled cheerfully, before bowing toward the Sannin. "I'm ready whenever you are!"

The man grinned. He punched his fist into his open palm, "Really?" He folded his arms over each other and took a step forward. He towered over Goku but the boy didn't falter, and he couldn't help but like that. "You can make the first move-"

The Sannin barely got to finish his sentence, because Goku was more than ready. He quickly tried to kick the man in his knee, but he jumped into the air. Goku rolled across the ground and jumped back up. He got into a proper fighting stance, but instantly leapt off of his right foot and tried to punch the man again.

Instead of dodging, he held his palm out and stopped the boy's attack completely. He closed it into a fist and lifted the boy off of the ground and tried to slam him into the ground. Goku jerked his hand forward and then pulled back hard. He managed to free himself from the man's grab and flipped in the air, so he could land cleanly behind the man. He wasted no time turning to face the boy.

"Even if I am going easy on you, you're better than I thought," Jiraiya admitted, "They've done a good job with you, but you're still not the sharpest kunai of the bunch."

The boy furrowed his brow. "Huh, whaddaya mean, old man!?" He ran forward and jumped off the ground and tried to directly punch him in the chest, but the Sannin swatted him out the air like a fly, and sent him tumbling across the ground.

Goku gained his composure fast, jumping back up. He sprinted forward and acted like he was trying to throw another punch, and smiled once he saw Jiraiya prepare himself. The man was ready to counter, cocking his arm back, but Goku slid right under him and jumped up just to kick him in the back. He only stumbled forward a bit, but it caught him by surprise. The Sannin turned around and caught a flurry of attacks launched by Goku, surprised by the force packed behind those strikes.

The man turned to face Goku again and actually went on the offensive. He charged forward and got ready to punch Goku, so he could send him flying, but the boy thought he had an advantage with his quickness. The child tried to slide under the Sannin's body again, but the man changed his approach this time, and grabbed him by the arm.

The Sannin wasted no time with slamming the boy against the ground repeatedly. He noticed there was way less resistance this time, and with each slam there was a wince of pain. He then decided to ease up on the boy, fully extending his arm back, and then throwing Goku straight into a wall. The Saiyan flipped over and landed on his feet, bouncing off and charging very quickly, though slow to the Sannin.

Jiraiya threw a fist in which it connected with black hair. Thinking the Saiyan would try the same trick thrice, he shot his leg forward. However, Goku anticipated this and hopped over the foot, roundhouse kicking the Sannin in the face. Jiraiya pretended to be hurt and Goku gained a false sense of victory until the Sannin grabbed Goku's leg and slammed in on the ground repeatedly. He then tossed him up in the air and elbowed him, though the Saiyan managed to block it, sending Goku to the ground.

He laughed like a madman for a moment, "That's for calling me an old man you little brat!" The Sannin walked up to a surprisingly resilient Goku who was starting to get himself together again. "You're a very strong gaki, I'll give you that, but you still have a lot to learn. I can tell you're going to be one of the greatest Taijutsu users in the world, but you need to learn how fully use your energy or you won't be anything credible in the Shinobi world."

Goku grinned and wiped a small smudge of dirt off of his face. "That's not true, with enough hard-work anyone can be great! If you're right, then teach me something then old man!"

"One day kid, one day. Don't worry, you'll receive professional tutelage very soon."

 **-A Few Minutes Later-**

"Howdy there, I'm a lost, wandering sea turtle named… well Turtle. I was picking a patch of mushrooms for my dear old master some time ago and somehow ended up somewhere over here after trying to find my way back home for nearly a year." The turtle conveyed, slowly talking in a clear, sleepy tone. "I could use a bit of help on my venture back to the sea."

"And how would you be able to help us in any way," Jiraiya queried, suspicious.

"What if I was to say that I could help you with the boy's training young man? My master is world renown, known as one of the strongest martial artists in the entire world." Turtle explained, telling the man what he wanted to hear. He figured that if it was training that the boy with spiky craved for, he could somehow use that passion to his advantage, achieving what he wanted in the process.

"Who's the master?" The Saiyan questioned the reptile as well, "And how can you train me?"

"Well, it is true that _Father Time_ is against me and I am not nearly as powerful as I was in my youth," Turtle started, sighing as nostalgia reminded him of his younger, much better, days. "I do, however weigh much more than your average sea turtle. You could become much stronger and faster than you already are if you take the time to carry me all the way to the sea, and I know for a _fact_ that my dear old master would be very pleased to provide you with a reward for your troubles… if you decide to help an old turtle out that is."

The child Saiyan took a moment to soak in the words the talking reptilian had spoken, noting how he could be given a reward just for getting stronger which was one thing that he enjoyed doing day and night. "Sure, just let us pack and we'll help ya," The Saiyan said, intrigued at the idea of both getting in a workout and meeting and possibly challenging a strong master, known as one of the strongest beings on the planet. "Right Ero-Sannin?"

The man growled at that, but responded regardless, "Yeah, I'm intrigued on who this master guy could be."

Once the few amount of minutes that it had taken for Goku and Jiraiya to pack up, the group of two and the overweight, rusty sea turtle were off on their journey towards the sea. Seeing that Goku had decided on carrying the very large turtle on his back as he ran the entire hundred and twenty five or so miles just to train under much more weight to become stronger and faster, Jiraiya summoned a decent sized toad and used him to gain a means of transportation.

 **-Nearly Two Hours Later-**

A little bit over an hour and half later, the quest for finding the coastline ended as the three beings walked onto a small beach, finally reaching the coast. Goku slowly bent down, allowing Turtle to fall onto the sandy ground.

"Thank you both very much," Turtle gratefully thanked the two people that had helped him find his way back to the sea. "If the two of you so kindly wait here, I'll be sure to bring my master here and he shall present you with your rewards."

"Finally," Goku replied. "I can't wait!"

With that, Turtle slowly paced into the ravaging sea, beginning to swim away to where he presumably resided along with his owner or master. Goku and Jiraiya were left with nothing much to do but wait for the reptile to return back with his friend.

"You think he'll come back?" Goku asked, worrying about whether or not they had wasted their time assisting the reptilian find his way back to his home.

"It better or I'm going to hunt it to the ends of the world and then we'll be having turtle soup for the next week and a half." Jiraiya laughed, joking around a bit. He did not worry much about the reptile crossing them anyhow.

The Saiyan then sat down in a cross legged position, breathing in and then slowly out. He then began meditating, continuing to bring out his energy just as he had been practicing for awhile a month after the explosion event. Before he could begin to draw upon his energy, the Saiyan was interrupted once again, as the voice of Jiraiya entered his ear.

"What are you doing?" Jiraiya asked, pondering over what the Saiyan was trying to do.

"I'm meditating… so I can focus my energy a lot easier," Goku answered.

"Interesting..." Jiraiya remarked off-handedly, "Resume what you're doing."

The two stayed silent and focused on what they were doing for the next twenty minutes, Goku meditating and Jiraiya writing for his new addition to Icha Icha. Suddenly, a spark of electricity form in Goku's hands started to multiply more and more while he was meditating, his energy coming on display. The energy continued to grow until it exploded in his face, knocking the boy back some.

"That was some decent control, my boy." An old, wrinkly skinned, elderly man said from the ocean waves, standing on top of Turtle, riding him to the coastline before he stepped off of the brown shelled, gigantic reptile that he had rode from his own island. ' _As far as I am aware of, only the two students that I taught along with Master Shen's students know how to bring out their inner energy besides Chakra.'_ He thought as he approached the two people.

"It was nothing really," Goku responded. "Who are you? Are you that great master sent to teach me?!"

"That would be me. I am Master Roshi, better known as the Turtle Hermit." The old man answered, stating his name to the Saiyan that stood before him. "How'd you learn that trick anyway?"

"I tried chakra and learned this instead," Goku replied, not wanting to reveal too much.

"No kidding child," Roshi slightly laughed. "It took me damn near 70 years just to learn the basics of the usage of ki and another ten before I was able to do anything with it."

"Wait, what the hell is Ki? I thought Chakra was the only energy inside of us," Jiraiya cut in, curious and intrigued.

"Well Ki is essentially your life force in a nutshell, many differences to Chakra. Ki is also known as latent energy or fighting power. This force is a tangible energy inside every living being, with its major focus being in the center of the body. By drawing it out, an individual is able to manipulate it and use it outside the body. Chakra users can't learn Ki for the simple reason their core energy is made from the Chakra itself, which is used in a network based off of Mental and Physical energy as one unit. Ki is different because there are three main components of it, Courage, Energy and Mind. It's made to exceed the human body's natural limits, and ascend the limits of themselves."

"So that's how it's different from chakra I guess, interesting," Jiraiya stated. "Is the reason why less than 0.01% of the world have Ki even though it dates back to the days of the legends, such as the Sage of Six Paths and Piccolo Daimao?"

"Well as long as I've been alive, which has been a _very_ long time, there were many more Ki users in my younger days though Chakra still ruled the world. However, I'm sure you've heard of Piccolo Daimao and his reign so that's where it began. He was so powerful that it took my master and the whole Shinobi world to bring him down. He killed off all of the ki users until me, Shen, and our Master were left. He also wreaked havoc upon the Shinobi world, leveling entire villages in one blast and ruling the world for awhile. The world was in great turmoil, until my master teamed up with grandparents of whom you know as Hashirama and Madara to defeat him. When Piccolo was finally defeated, my master lost his life in the process due to sealing the demon inside a very powerful seal. That's what happened to the Ki users and the rest is history."

"Well...that must have been quite the endeavor," Jiraiya commented, receiving a nod from the Turtle Hermit. "I'll be heading back now, I'm leaving the gaki named Goku to your hands now. Sayonara."

Goku waved, and Roshi nodded, watching the man depart very quickly.

"Alright, let's have a spar just for my reward then!" Goku suggested, his Saiyan blood begging for a battle against the world's stronger Master Roshi. ' _I may get beat up pretty badly, but I wanna get stronger.'_

"That sounds good to me young man," Roshi agreed. "Now, I'll even hold back a bit on you, just for fun."

"No, don't hold back," Goku growled, wanting a battle where he could go all-out and truly push his limits to the max. "Gohan-ojiisan would always hold back on me whenever we used to spar. I actually wanna real challenge for once."

"So, you know Gohan?" Roshi questioned his future protege.

"Yeah," Goku answered, "He raised me until about a year ago."

"I'll take it that you happen to be that child he found many years ago then?" Roshi exclaimed, much to Goku's astonishment.

"How do ya know?" Goku inquired, getting into his signature fighting stance. No one besides the Hokage and his crew knew about his secrets, excluding his deceased Grandfather.

"You even have a stance similar to his." Roshi laughed, glancing at the fighting stance that the palm-haired Saiyan was standing in; seemingly ready to begin the spar he had been promised. "But to answer your question… Gohan told me of course! I happen to be his original master after all. We keep in touch every once in a while."

"You trained my Ojiisan?!" Goku asked, smiling over the fact that he would be sparring against the very person that taught the old man that had adopted him.

"You're correct… but how has he been? The two of us haven't spoken in a good year or so." Roshi questioned the Saiyan.

"Dead." Goku scowled with an edge of guilt to his voice, trying to hold back some of the tears that came whenever he would begin to think of the death of the only Earthling who had ever cared for him in the beginning, Gohan.

"I'm sorry about that… I was positive that he could have taken my place as Turtle Hermit had I died before he did," Roshi responded in a saddened tone. Gohan was one of the only two students he had ever taken under his wing throughout his entire life, and he also managed to be the strongest of the two… always the more promising and most dedicated. Though he drunk the potion of youth, that made him gain eternal life until he was genuinely killed."

"Don't be, I need to grow stronger anyways. So I can protect everyone and push my self to the limit, so no one will be killed," Goku announced, a firm resolve on his chubby face.

"Well, if you have to get stronger, I'm pretty sure that I can help you with that." Master Roshi suggested, making Goku's blood boil in excitement. "I'll be sure to teach you everything I know for the five years you're with me."

"Hell yeah!" Goku responded, extremely excited at the thought of training under a much stronger master than Gohan. "But first, let's fight!"

"Alright," Roshi stated as he positioned himself into his fighting stance. "It has been quite a while."

With the response, Goku suddenly jolted forward, cutting the distance of the soft, warm sandy ground that lied between him and Roshi. Upon reaching striking distance, the Saiyan began delivering both punches and kicks at a great speed, each blow attempting to hit their mark on the elderly martial artist. On the receiving end of his blows, Roshi appeared to be easily dodging or blocking anything and everything that was being thrown at his fragile appearing body.

Roshi then managed to throw his own jab; this one quicker than even the Saiyan could follow, directly at the Saiyan's chin. Roshi's punch was fired at a pace even faster than Goku could dodge. The wrinkled fist of the Turtle Hermit firmly connected with the alien's jawbone, sending the boy tumbling onto the ground. "Had enough already?" Roshi questioned, his black sunglasses glistening magnificently under the blazing Sun.

Goku slowly pushed himself off of the ground, standing back on his own two feet. The gritty area that his body had landed on after Roshi's intense blow happened to have a small puddle of blood soaked into it, streaming down to the alien's chin from the wound that Goku had succumbed from the jab. Although he was getting bested by the Turtle Hermit with very little resistance, the fight made Goku's blood boil in eagerness. Never in his six years of living on the face of the Earth had Gohan ever struck him with a head-on blow packed with the strength and intensity that Roshi had just shown, always too worried about hurting his G _randson_. Ignoring this, the Saiyan plainly wiped the blood from his mouth with a forearm, turning to face Master Roshi.

"I'm not done yet," Goku grinned as he charged his opponent once again. Instead of landing the mighty boot directly to his foe's chest as he had anticipated, the Saiyan was caught off-guard as he only met another of Roshi's punches, striking the Saiyan directly in the gut. Goku's insides howled in a pain that they had never experienced before as the clenched fist dug into the Saiyan's stomach. Before Goku could even react to the pain that was spreading through his body, the Turtle Hermit had hopped into the air, coming down hard with a double fist haymaker, towering down onto the Saiyan's back. The next thing the Saiyan knew, he was lying on the ground once again, barely conscious from the assault that Master Roshi had just unleashed onto him.

"N-No, I can still... go on," Goku managed to get out through clenched teeth. The Saiyan closed his eyes and concentrated on his Ki, trying to surprise the Turtle Hermit. He then immediately shot his arm out, letting out a pair of clear, badly charged up ki orbs soaring towards his opponent. The orange-suited martial arts master easily managed to deflect both energy balls with a backhand before he positioned himself into a stiff, intimidating stance with both of his hands cupped to his side.

"This is an attack I would like to pass onto you by the time you're done training under me. **Ka** … **Me** … **Ha** … **Me** …" Roshi chanted as a small, blue sphere of energy began growing in his cupped palms. Gusts of wind spiraled around the fighter as debris and sand lifted off of the ground, hovering and spinning around the body of the incredibly strong Earthling.

"Whoa, that looks so awesome!" The next second, the Saiyan crossed both of his arms across his body, preparing himself to brace for the oncoming attack.

" **Ha**!" Master Roshi finished, thrusting both of his hands forward with a tremendous amount of force. The energy wave, which Goku knew had been hardly packed with the full amount of power that Roshi could muster up, charged towards Goku, who pushed his arms out to attempt to deflect the powerful beam of ki.

As the blue wave of energy met Goku's open palms, the Saiyan could feel his entire body vibrating from the sheer power invested in the Kamehameha Wave. The flaring blast of ki continued smashing into the Saiyan's hands, leaving severe, first degree burns on his palms of his hands. With each passing second, Goku could feel his body being more overpowered by the amount of power flowing through the tremendous display of ki. Another second later, the warrior's arms gave in, allowing the Turtle Hermit's Kamehameha Wave to smash directly into his armored body. To keep from killing the boy, Roshi clapped his hands together, making it explode right before hitting Goku.

Once the dust cloud died down, Goku revealed himself to the Turtle Hermit, still barely managing to stand up. His legs trembled, wanting to give in at any given second, as his now scorched and torn gi showcased a good amount of bruises and third degree burns littered across the Saiyan's body. Goku stood in one spot, his eyes piercing at Roshi as he continued breathing harder than ever before. "I-I'm s-still goin-!" Goku let out before he fell to the beach floor, utterly defeated.

"Yes you are," Roshi corrected, walking over to the unconscious body of Goku. "You never stood a chance I'm afraid… but I must admit that you do have a lot of potential. And you're very strong for your age and size, lasting that long against me. You still have years to go before you even make me use true effort, but you have great willpower. Turtle… can you help me escort this young man to my home. MAGIC CARPET, COME FORTH!"

 **-Twenty-Four Hours Later-**

"Before we train, can I get a bite to eat?!"

"Sure… there should be a few things in the fridge. Help yourself," The Turtle Hermit replied, with Goku charging straight past him into the kitchen. Roshi heard a few loud sounds boom throughout the kitchen, and knowing that the sound did not sound like a good thing, did not even bother to ask the Saiyan what was happening. After a solid minute, Goku suddenly walked out of the kitchen, his stomach satisfied for the moment after eating all of the food that he could find stored in the refrigerator.

"Yumm," The Saiyan managed to say between burps, patting his stomach in satisfaction. "That was great!"

"So, what're we gonna do today Master?" Goku asked, stretching and loosening up. He felt refreshed and a little stronger than he was before, ready for another great day in training. "I can't wait to do it!"

"Well, today we sha-" Roshi was interrupted by sand shooting up.

They were interrupted as a small bald headed boy landed head first in the sand. Apparently, he'd decided to make an entrance by jumping from his boat to the shore. He'd made an entrance alright. Goku tried to suppress a laugh but couldn't quite manage it, breaking down into hysterics at the epic fail.

A minute later the old master and Goku had pulled the boy free of the sand and righted him. "Who are you?" Goku asked in a questioning tone.

"For your information," the boy answered in a harsh tone. "My name is Krillin. I have traveled a great distance from the Orin temple in the Land of Cloud just to train with the great Master Roshi in hopes to learn Martial Arts and how to defend myself in battle."

"But I'm his student already," Goku replied. "Master Roshi already said he was only gonna take one pupil."

"The boy has a point," Roshi confirmed. "I did promise to train him alone. And I don't usually take two students."

"I brought you some reading material," Krillin replied pulling out and handing the old master several dirty magazines and several novels on Icha Icha, including the Island edition. Roshi's eyes went wide at such a beautiful sight, garnering him a nose bleed for ten seconds. He then quickly composed himself though, coughing into his hand.

"You'll have to do better then that," he told Krillin. "Your task is to find me a beautiful girl for a date."

"That's not the task of a martial artist," Krillin said, "They learn to fight, not escort."

"Do you want me to train you or not?" Roshi replied. "I could always simply train Goku and him alone."

"Fine," Krillin replied. "But are you going to make him find you one too?"

"No," Roshi said. "I don't think so. I already have an arrangement with him that I intend to follow no matter what."

Krillin turned and un-capsulized his jet copter and ran inside, "Fine, I'll return with one for you in few."

After Krillin had left, Roshi turned to Goku. "Alright, to warm-up until our new-found friend returns, I want you to do push-ups with Turtle lying on your back for as long as you can until you drop."

"Okay, let's do this," Goku said. The Saiyan dropped to the ground in push-up position and let Turtle be placed on his back via Master Roshi.

 **-Over One Hour Later-**

A little bit over an hour later, Krillin finally reappeared, returning to the elderly Master Roshi's island in his hovercraft. After a few failed attempts at bringinf the scrawny mentor the right woman for him, the shaven headed midget had finally brought for a match. This woman was a tall, yet skinny woman with her blue-violet colored hair wrapped in a red bow. She wore a pair of short shorts that went up to halfway up her thigh along with a lime green tank top. The old Turtle Hermit let out a slight squeal upon observing the woman, immediately falling over in shock with a severe nose bleed. "This is Launch," Krillin introduced with a satisfied grin coming to life on her face.

"Very good work my boy," Roshi replied, "You can definitely train with us."

"Yes!" Krillin said excited to be training with the great Master Roshi.

 **-The Next Day-**

The next day, Master Roshi and his students had decided to pack up everything they own, relocating to much bigger island where the old Turtle Hermit insisted that they would all have much more room to train and spar. Master Roshi now stood outside with his two disciples, Goku and Krillin. Launch had decided that she would not train alongside the trio, instead staying inside of the pink home of Roshi's performing the duties of a housewife, such as cooking meals for the four as well as cleaning whenever she could.

"Now, first things first… Krillin, have you had any type of previous training?" Master Roshi asked the smaller of his two trainees.

"Yes sir, I spent four years training at the Orin Temple." Krillin responded, grinning a bit at his accomplishments.

"Ah… I am pleased by that." Master Roshi stated, turning to Goku. "Goku, I take it that you have been training under Gohan for at least the past four years?"

"Yeah and I learned some from Konoha too." Goku corrected the elderly man.

"Great," Roshi continued. "First thing that we're going to do is test your speed. How fast you run can will be a great indication of your strength and power. Krillin, I take it that you'd like to be the first to run this 500 meter dash."

"Sure thing master!" Krillin said, a smug look on his face as he pierced over at Goku. He slowly walked over to the starting line while Roshi and Goku awaited him about a good one hundred meters away with a stopwatch in hands, "Prepare to be amazed."

"Go," The old mentor instructed.

Krillin quickly exerted all of his speed, racing towards the tree where his fellow student stood waiting for him. By the time he had reached the end, the short pupil was incredibly winded, panting for any and all of the air that he could muster up.

"Nine point four seconds… not too shabby." Roshi said, praising the first of his pupils. "Alright Goku, you're up now."

Goku did as instructed and lined up directly behind the starting line, ready to prove his worth to Krillin and Roshi.

"Go!" Roshi shouted once more, signaling Goku to begin. Goku quickly charged off, closing the distance between himself and the tree at an outstanding speed.

"Eight point five seconds," Roshi smiled, shocked by the boy's speed. He honestly knew that the boy had potential, but he was not fully aware of just how much he would possess. "Now, I bet that the two of you want to see how fast your old master can run this."

Roshi quickly performed his 500 meter dash, finishing the race at exactly three and a half seconds flat, leaving a stunned expression upon Krillin's face as their master swept past him.

"Wow! You're really fast Sensei," Goku commented, astounded by his speed.

"Now, on to the next test," Roshi said, breaking the tension that was beginning to continually build up between Goku and Krillin, the latter jealous of the former. The Earthling bent over to the ground, taking a small stone from a pile of rubble before he decided to write a weird symbol upon the surface of the rock. "This rock has the Turtle kanji, _Kame_ , on it. Your task is to find the stone." The master instructed, hurling the rock over a nearby cliff and into the tremendous jungle below it. "The one who brings the stone back to me will be served a nice warm dinner while the other will be left without a meal for the night. If neither of you have returned within thirty minutes, the both of you will just have to go without dinner for the rest of the night." The old mentor demanded before he walked into Kame House.

"Now… how will we be able to get down there?" Krillin loudly asked himself.

"We climb down," Goku stated obviously, taking off in a burst. The Saiyan ignored the cocky, yet clueless Human and raced over to the cliff, climbing down it with haste. Goku eventually jumped off the ridge of his cliff and softly landed on the gro

und below, racing into the toppling trees ahead of him. There was no way that he was about to not have dinner tonight, hell no!

"Hey, wait up for me Goku!" Krillin suddenly cried out as he began cautiously climbing down the rigid cliff, fully aware of the fact that he was already at a disadvantage.

Several of minutes into the hunt for the stone bearing Roshi's signature kanji, Krillin had no such luck in the area he was searching in. Just as he was about to rush into the tropical jungle that Goku had entered into minutes earlier, the extremely short Earthling glanced into the forest glades to see the last person he had wanted to encounter, Goku. The Saiyan in mind was slowly walking towards his rival, the same cheerful expression that he bared nearly all of the time engraved upon his face as Krillin saw that he was repeatedly tossing some sort of object into the air, catching it before it could hit the ground.

"Given up already?" The boy confidently smirked, his tone becoming somewhat cocky as he stared down his rival.

"Nope, I'm done." Goku shrugged, the same smirk that Krillin had upon his face forming in place of the Saiyan's own mouth. "The stone's right here." The Saiyan finished, showing off the smooth stone on which the Turtle Hermit's _Kame_ kanji had been sketched upon to his training partner.

"That fast?" Krillin gulped in disbelief. "H-How? That's unreal!"

"It was easy," Goku clearly responded. "I just looked at where it went. It also smells like Master Roshi himself."

"I'm not throwing in the towel that easily!" Krillin let out, wanting to beat the Saiyan once and for all. "How about we have ourselves a little bit of a _friendly_ spar for that stone?" The former monk suggested, getting into a fighting stance that had been taught to him years earlier, by the much stronger, older shaolin monks at the Orin Temple.

"Bring it on!" Goku shouted back with a grin plastered on his face, getting into his traditional stance. "I'll beat you."

"We'll see," Krillin said. "I've trained for four years under the Orin monks. They are great martial artists."

The boy was interrupted as Goku shot forward and landed a punch in the boy's mouth. Krillin staggered back but Goku never let up for a minute, as he came around with a roundhouse kick to Krillin's head sending the bald boy flying into a nearby bush.

Krillin tumbled through the thorny bush then slumped to the ground. But he soon got to his feet. "No fair, I wasn't ready," he said.

"But you started it," Goku said. "You should have been ready."

Krillin shot at Goku trying to catch the boy by surprise by attacking while he was gloating. He sent a foot at the boy's midsection but Goku shot a hand out and blocked the punch with an open palm. Krillin continued his offensive with a punch at the Saiyan's temple but Goku leaned his head to the side and brought his own fist forward toward Krillin's stomach. Krillin brought his knee up and blocked the blow just in time. He was amazed how much the blow had rattled him even though he'd blocked it.

But Krillin wasn't going to let a thing like that stop him from winning the fight and dinner. He shot his head forward surprising Goku with a head butt to the face, bruising the young Saiyan's nose. Taking advantage of his opponents momentary staggering, Krillin brought his knee up into Goku's stomach with as much strength as he could muster doubling the Saiyan over. Finishing the move, Krillin sent a roundhouse kick at the Saiyan sending him flying back.

Goku picked himself up off the ground and wiped some blood off of his face, a smile on his face. Krillin was a good sparring partner after all. "You're good," he complimented. "But ya won't win!"

He shot back at Krillin and threw a punch at the monk's face. Krillin went to block but realized too late that the blow was just a feint. Kakarot raised his other palm at point blank range to Krillin's face and connected with a hook. Krillin staggered back, trying to evade most of Goku's strikes. Suddenly, an almost transparent orb of Ki shot at him, surprising him and hitting him in the face.

Krillin was caught entirely by surprise by this move. He'd heard rumors of some of the great masters being able to do such things. He'd even heard of Master Roshi's legendary **Kamehameha Wave** , but to think this boy could manipulate energy was impossible. But he believed it when the sphere hit him in the face, slightly burning and sending him sprawling back.

Goku shot forward. He knew that the ball he'd sent at Krillin wasn't powerful enough to hurt the boy. But hurting him badly was never his objective in the first place. The explosion had been mostly a distraction. Goku shot a knee up into Krillin's stomach doubling the monk over. Then with a swift elbow, Goku knocked Krillin over and onto his side, seeing his panting form.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked, concerned.

"No, help me-" Krillin responded, grinning on the inside. He stuck his hand out and grabbed Goku's hand to get pulled up. Suddenly, the former monk attempted to hit the Saiyan in the face, but with a "sixth" sense he blocked it and pushed him back down.

"That was a dirty trick," Goku said, turning his back on his opponent with a frown on his face. "See ya later I guess." The Saiyan took off into a sprint back up to his master, eager to get dinner. One thing was for sure: Goku and Krillin became rivals.

 **-The Next Day-**

"Alright Goku and Krillin, today you shall begin your true training for the next few years." Master Roshi told his two students, standing right in front of the rising sun. Originally, upon overhearing and finding out that the two martial artists had already partaken in a spar, in which Goku had managed to defeat Krillin, the old master had been slightly disappointed in his students. However, both of the students had admitted that Krillin had been the one to challenge Goku, so it seemed a bit right the Saiyan had taught the former monk a lesson or two. He had also noticed that it seemed like the two trainees were beginning to get along a lot better than the previous two days, evident by the fact that he was not hearing any sort of bickering escaping from the two's mouths throughout the entire morning. "Okay… before we begin our training, we have to start off with a brief run to warm up our muscles." The Turtle Hermit instructed as he began lightly jogging, with Goku and Krillin following directly behind him.

After a few minutes filled with light jogging along a grassy trail, the old master and his two students finally arrived at a small white cabin where a milkman was carefully stacking blue crates filled with milk bottles. "You must be the same person I spoke to earlier." Master Roshi said to the farmer, greeting the milkman with a courteous bow. "Don't worry, my students and I will make sure that we have all of this milk delivered before the time of breakfast."

"Pardon me Master Roshi," Krillin abruptly interjected, interrupting the conversation between the old master and the grateful milkman. "If you don't mind me asking… what exactly does delivering milk have to do with our martial arts skills getting better?"

"Oh… I don't know," Master Roshi calmly responded before his tone became more of a harsh and severe one. "I somewhat recall that this maybe has something to do with HAVING THE DISCIPLINE TO DO WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU ARE INSTRUCTED TO DO BY YOUR TEACHER!" The Turtle Hermit let out, harshly criticizing the former Orin Temple trainee.

"Yes sir," Krillin gulped, his face dropping in fear as he staggered back from the screaming hermit. " I apologize… Master Roshi."

Goku looked curious as well. Just as Krillin, he had absolutely no idea how delivering milk connected to martial arts, but he still had to keep that to himself… at least for the time being until he actually had a chance to realize what the training truly was made of. Who knew… Roshi was probably going to have them gain his ability to use a **Kamehameha Wave** by having them unleash the ki attack onto the bottles for target practice. Roshi did happen to be one of the strongest man on the face of the Earth, so that surely had to mean that this strange method of training that the Turtle Hermit made up had to be somewhat efficient in some way.

"How about we start off easy, just for today?" Roshi stated, turning to his students as he handed the two of them their own crate of milk. "We'll skip the first seven miles and just continue on."

Krillin's face immediately paled, dropping in disbelief. ' _Did he just say the FIRST_ _seven miles?_ ' The Earthling warrior questioned himself, insisting on not letting another word escape his mouth after Roshi's sudden outburst just moments earlier.

A little bit over twenty minutes later the three martial artists came to a halt, stopping in front of another small cottage where a bottle of milk was placed on the porch. "Very good to the both of you," Roshi stated, turning to face a winded Krillin and a rather-tired Goku, who was still able to stand without putting his hands on his knees. "Now for the next five miles, we are going to zigzag left and right through these trees lined up down this path."

Goku smiled a little tiredly; if it meant getting stronger then the six year old would do it. As the three had been pacing down the trail, Goku had finally learned what the point of the exercise was. It would help both him and Krillin last longer in battle, which they all knew was necessary in a fight… especially one that would drag on.

A little bit over an hour later, the group finally arrived at the tenth house, delivering the milk bottle to the porch of the home. Immediately, Krillin slowly walked over to the closest wall of the home, leaning back upon the shack as he continued to heavily pant from the overwhelming workout. "F-Finally… w-we're done," The monk managed to let out between gasps for air.

"Not exactly," Roshi corrected his exhausted student. "But we will take a five minute break before we continue our delivery route up a few stairs."

"That sounds good to me," Krillin quietly mumbled, using his forearm to wipe a stream of sweat forming upon his shaven forehead. Not even a second later, the Human's eyes widened, his face paling as he glanced up, realizing that by a _few stairs_ , Roshi actually meant an incredibly high trail of stairs spiraling across and all the way up to the peak of an extremely tall mountain. Goku's eyes widened as well, actually starting to feel the effects of exhaustion hitting him strongly at this point.

"Okay, let's get started," Master Roshi exclaimed after approximately five minutes of resting time, beginning their ascent up the numerous flights of stairs.

A few hours later, Goku lied in the cool shade of a tree, the blades of grass snuggling his body as he relaxed in the shadow, resting his body. Once he and Krillin had delivered the final bottle of milk, Master Roshi had assigned the two trainees to perform their mid-morning training, which consisted of agriculture, instructing them to plow an entire field using only their bare hands. Along with that, they had been tasked with completing a bit of construction work, some studying to strengthen their mind, practice their strength by pushing large boulders which neither were able to do, and finish off the training by swimming laps in a nearby river… while being chased down by a vicious great white shark.

While the training seemed incredibly weird, Goku had to admit that he felt completely and utterly exhausted by the end, along with Krillin. The elderly Turtle Hermit had instructed the boys to rest for the remainder of the day and that they would continue their training tomorrow, albeit the exact same ritual though without the old man's guidance. The young Saiyan now rested, too exhausted to do much of anything else.

And this would be the training for the next year and three quarters, which would prove very productive.


	6. Tragedy and Training

_Chapter 6: Tragedy and Training_

* * *

 _ **-One Year and Three Months Later-**_

"Alright, that's it for today. Be sure to start practicing your transformation jutsu at home; it's one of the three important jutsus you need to know before you can graduate," Yugao stated, ending the class with her final statement. Naruto made a face; he never had much luck with jutsus, and had made little to no progress on any of the main three despite almost daily practice.

"Hinata-san, do you want to train a little after class? I need to spar with someone who's really good at Taijutsu." Sasuke had turned to Hinata to pose the question as the class began to leave, leaving a blinking Naruto between them. The received response was an odd, wide-eyed wonder from the Hyūga, though a quick nod afforded her confirmation. Naruto smiled and waved to the two of them, moving along before a hesitant voice stopped him.

"Naruto... Do you want to come with us?" Hinata asked, looking at the redhead, whom was grinning from ear to ear.

"Heck yeah! I'll meet you guys in the yard in a few minutes!" He could barely contain himself as he bounded down the stairs between desks, all but exclaiming to the world his plans for the afternoon. Moments later Naruto sped out the door, slowing to a 'casual' walk with a bit too much bounce in his step upon leaving the building.

 _ **-Three Months Later-**_

Three months had passed since that day, and sure enough the trio trained almost daily, further honing their taijutsu skills and occasionally finding time for chakra exercises. Naruto had advanced alarmingly fast in his taijutsu, to the point that Sasuke was now struggling to keep up and he was helping his friends with their footwork and technique. Of course even just sparring with Naruto over an extended period of time increased their endurance as well. Hinata helped both of them with their chakra control and its practical applications, to the best of her abilities, while Sasuke tried to impart some knowledge of the jutsus his brother had taught him. All in all, the experience helped all of them improve noticeably. Trouble came, however, as trouble always tends to.

Two months before the end of the spring semester, Hinata arrived home after a productive day at the academy. The Hyūga estate was vast and lavish, as the family was one of the wealthiest in the village, but the gardens could not hold the girl's attention for the time being. Her father had sent for her. The only thing going through her mind right then was a mental checklist, making sure she was presentable and had a stutter-free explanation of the day's events ready in case he asked. Not because he cared if she enjoyed it or not – such things were unimportant, after all – but to ensure that her instruction was going well.

Hinata had been a disappointment to her father, a fact that she was reminded of almost daily at her home. If not by her father, then by her elder cousin Neji, or even her younger sister Hanabi who showed much more promise. The elder daughter of Hiashi was on the verge of being disowned, or perhaps she had already been proverbially cast out. It was hard to tell some days. All Hinata knew was that she needed to work harder and earn her father's praise. It was her fault for being a failure, so she had to take responsibility and fix it.

The audience chamber was dimly lit and quiet. Too quiet, as usual. Hyūga Hiashi sat on a slightly raised dais, considering his eldest offspring coldly. No hint of paternal warmth emanated from the leader of the clan. "I understand that you are engaging in extra training after hours at the academy," he stated rhetorically, watching his daughter for any hint of a reaction. Nothing yet. "I have been told you are training with an Uchiha; I approve of this choice and recommend you continue. Their clan is strong, and with his help you may yet salvage your worth." A pitiful, hopeful expression appeared on Hinata's face before it was erased by a hard look.

"However, I also understand that the Uzumaki child is also taking part in this training. I thought I had... cautioned you about him. He is dangerous filth, and I have told you more than once to maintain distance from him. But you have gone against my wishes and now willingly consort with him." Hinata's mouth opened and closed once, causing Hiashi to raise an inquisitive eyebrow. Had she actually been about to defend her actions?

"You are not to spend any more time with Uzumaki Naruto. Do you understand?" A long moment passed with a barely noticeable shimmering of the girl's eyes, the only animation to an otherwise stoic face. "I will ask only once more, Hinata. Do. You. Understand?" His words cut like no blade could, finally eliciting a tight nod from her before she was dismissed unceremoniously.

Hinata was used to tears; many evenings had been spent curled up in her room, crying for reasons beyond her own understanding. But she knew why this time. She knew that her father had demanded she give up one of the only friends she had ever made, a boy that inspired her and whom she could gain confidence from.

But why? Why did the adults hate Naruto so much? Why did even her peers whisper things about him like the older villagers? She had asked only two people in her life. One was her father, who had merely berated her for asking such a foolish question. The other was one of her retainers, who kindly suggested that he was not allowed to tell. That was what bothered the young Hyūga more than anything else. They were not 'allowed' to, but that meant it must be a secret. What kind of secret could it be that was worth trying to put down such a courageous boy? Silent sobs carried her to sleep as the puzzle refused to solve itself in her mind.

 _ **-Five Months Later At Kame Island-**_

23 months had passed and Goku and Krillin had continued to do their daily routine, except with one-hundred fifty pound turtle shells on their backs and a much harder routine. Roshi had avoided training them in any way other than telling them to do their routine, spar if they want, and that they weren't ready to learn anything else advanced.

"Man, I wish Roshi-sensei would teach us something new now," Krillin complained after nearly two years of the same training.

"At least the training hardly tires us now," Goku commented. "It must be doing something. But you're right, I wanna learn more!"

"You do have a point," Krillin admitted. "But I don't want my fighting skills getting crappy."

"Well then let's spar!" Goku suggested. "I wanna see how much better I am compared to last year."

"I don't know," Krillin said still remembering how Goku had beat him the last time three months ago.

"C'mon, you can do it," the Saiyan said. "I'll wear the shell if you want."

"But you'll get destroyed," Krillin responded. "I'll keep my shell on too then."

"No, let's both drop em," Goku said, grinning in anticipation to the spar. "Let's do this!"

Krillin dropped his shell and charged at Goku with a speed that he'd previously never knew he had. The monk shot a fist out at Goku's head, but the young Saiyan managed to move out of the way at the last second. Krillin was very surprised at how much faster they were compared to the last time they went at full speed.

Unfortunately, his moment of surprise was interrupted as Goku's fist shot into his stomach. Krillin doubled over from the blow, and then he shook off the blow to the stomach and blocked an incoming fist that was aimed towards his head. Krillin then proceeded to go on the offensive with a sweeping kick of his own in an attempt to take the feet out from under Goku.

The young boy jumped over the attack and back flipped out of range of the next punch headed towards his body. Goku then shot forward at Krillin with an uppercut aimed at the boy's jaw but Krillin put an arm in front of the blow, deflecting the arm down and to the side. The monk took this opportunity to shoot a fist into the young Saiyan's stomach causing him to double over. A small drop of spit shot from his mouth and landed on the white tank top he wore. Krillin went on another onslaught, but the palm-haired Saiyan was ready, catching his friends high speed fists and then kneeing him in the chest.

 _ **-With Roshi-**_

Roshi watched the spar from the porch of the house. He knew this day would come when Goku would need to do more then just physical endurance exercises. The boy was impatient and felt the need to be the best as soon as possible. Goku wasn't likely to lose his drive to train as long as there was people to be saved. And Krillin wasn't likely to beat Goku if they trained the same amount. Roshi continued to watch the fight, and he decided that they weren't quite ready for the super advanced training. He'd let them train on their own if they wanted. If they got strong enough doing that then he'd start instructing them on more of the advanced techniques of the turtle style. Which he felt would be extremely soon, sooner than he thought.

 _ **-Later On The Same Day-**_

It was a cold September night. The wind was strong enough to make leaves dance in it. The moon was bright and full, with a faint tone of red. Uchiha Itachi stood above a streetlight, watching over the aftermath of his work. Blood painted the walls of the Uchiha compound. And from a distance, Itachi could see his otouto, making his way towards the district. The older Uchiha took a deep breath. There were two targets left to clear the mission. He quickly vanished using once again the **Shunshin no Jutsu**.

Sasuke was running at a fast pace. Even after training all morning and afternoon long, he still had energy left to run and make his way towards his house. He was late for dinner, and he wanted to tell his parents about his day. But as he was approaching the Uchiha compound, he felt there was something wrong. It was too dark and gloomy. His pace slowed down.

The second he entered the main gate, he could smell the blood sprayed over the walls. He ran to the source of the smell and saw 4 dead bodies, all belonging to members of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke put a hand over his mouth to avoid throwing up. It didn't work too well. He ended up puking the bento his mother made for him in the morning. Thankfully he got used to the awful sight, for it repeated over and over again as he walked through the compound, and the pile of bodies would just increase.

" _What happened here...?_ " he thought, with tears running across his face. " _Who could be able do this to the entire clan...? It's not possible!_ " His thoughts were becoming more desperate and his tears would not stop flowing. Every person was either someone he personally knew or he met more than once. As second son of the clan head, he knew just about everyone in the clan, and every person he saw lying dead on the ground would increase his desperation and sadness.

It was in this moment that Sasuke remembered that he was still a few blocks away from his house, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. ' _Kaa-san..._ _Tou-san..._ _Please be alive! PLEASE! I cannot possibly be able to lose you too!_ '

As he arrived in the main house, Sasuke saw that all the light were out. "Tou-san...? Kaa-san...?" he shouted. For some reason, he knew that it was not the best course of action to take, but his mind was not thinking straight, due to the situation he was into. He slowly entered and made his way through the dark corridors. Something inside him told him to search his parents at Fugaku's office. That's when Sasuke heard a loud noise coming from it.

*THUD*

Sasuke froze in fear at this very instant. It was the noise of something... or someone... falling over the floor. Then, it happened again.

*THUD*

He gulped. There was definitely people inside the room. His breathing was faster and more agitated. The rate of his heartbeat was as fast as a humming bird. Sasuke gathered his final ounces of strength to raise his hand and open the door. He had a gut feeling of anxiety, nervousness, paranoia, and fear all at the same time. And it was frightening. The room was pitch black, except for a faint moon ray that was shining on the center of it. The sight in front of Sasuke's eyes was one that would burn in his mind forever.

His parents, Fugaku and Mikoto, lying dead on the floor, with a large pool of blood below them. His aniki, Itachi, standing still in front of them, with a katana in his left hand, blood dripping from the tip. His face was that of a true shinobi. Emotionless, cold, distant... His blood-red **Sharingan** eyes were flaring through the blue moonlight. The older Uchiha took notice of his otouto's presence.

"...Nii-san...?" said Sasuke, not wanting to believe the sight his onyx black eyes were seeing. "What... what happened...? Kaa-san and Tou-san... dead... Who...?"

Before Sasuke could make up any more words, Itachi threw a kunai at his general direction. The kunai ripped a piece of his cloth, and cut through his left shoulder. Sasuke winced in pain, and as he tried to make sense in everything that was going on, Itachi looked at him, unleashing killing intent. "Foolish otouto..." he said. In a span of seconds, Itachi's eyes started to spin and the tomoes started to take another shape. It resembled a three pointed Shuriken in a way.

" **Mangekyou Sharingan!** "

In a blink of an eye, the flow of time seemed to revert, and the colors of the world were put on negative state. When Sasuke came to his senses, he was once again at the main street of the district. All the dead clansmen were back on their feet, but an air of uncertainty and fear were spread all over it. Suddenly, Itachi's voice was heard, roaring as a thunder.

" _Welcome to the world of Tsukuyomi, otouto..._ " he said. " _In here, I control time and space themselves. In here, I am the supreme master of reality. And for you, my little brother, I have a special treat... For the next 72 hours, you will see how I managed to kill our clansmen... All of them, including Tou-san and Kaa-san. Have fun..._ "

As the scenes of kunai and shuriken flying and brutally impaling many Uchihas flew through Sasuke's mind, he could only pale in horror. But when the image of Itachi slashing their parents brutally and effortlessly, he snapped.

"No... No... NOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY ARE YOU SHOWING ME THIS, NII-SAN! PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" In the illusion, Sasuke picked up a kunai slashed it through Itachi's head, only for the image to be replaced with his Baa-chan, falling to the ground.

"No! BAA-CHAN!" The young Uchiha kept trying to kill his aniki to make it stop, but each time, a clan member would take his place, falling to the ground dead.

Itachi merely chuckled. " _It will stop, little brother... in 71 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds..._ " he said, as the **Tsukuyomi** repeated the whole process again. And again. And again. Until the colors and the flow of time went back to normal, as reality came back to both brothers.

In a span of what seemed like 3 seconds in normal time and an eternity to the 8-year old, Sasuke fell on the floor, with his mouth drooling, and his onyx eyes shaking from both the terror and the exhaustion of going through such a powerful Genjutsu. Sasuke knew it was just an illusion. But at the same time, it felt so real, so vivid... as if Itachi really did kill every single Uchiha save for him. It also felt like he murdered his clan as well from the Genjutsu. He didn't know why, but his eyes burned. They were on fire. But he ignored the thought and one question flew through his mind more than anything. It was the question he gathered strength and caught up his breath to ask Itachi.

"Why...?"

"Why did you do this... if it was really you... then what was the reason...? And why did you have to kill everyone, including Tou-san and Kaa-san?"

Itachi could just say the truth. That it was because they were planning to revolt and that it was for the greater good of Konohagakure. But that wouldn't suffice. For Itachi's plan to work, he needed to lie. And lie is what he did.

"To measure my strength... and surpass my limits..." he answered. Sasuke flinched at hearing his brother's shallow and cold answer. Could someone really kill his whole family just for the heck of proving himself to be powerful? Sasuke questioned him again. "That's it...? You killed Tou-san, Kaa-san and everyone else... so you could test your limits...?"

Itachi closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "It was necessary, Sasuke. You wouldn't understand..." he said, as if it was the simplest thing in the universe. Sasuke would be dumbfounded, if it wasn't Itachi's cruel and cold statement. He was feeling anger, but most of all... betrayal. Such an atrocity... for power? After all of those words about not falling into shadows and trying to follow the path of justice and righteousness?

That's when Sasuke's eyes were boiling with something else. Something he never felt so much before in his life. He wasn't sure of what was that, but he knew that he wanted to kill Itachi. ' _Hurt him..._ ' he thought. ' _He deserves it... hurt him... give him pain... give him hell... hate him... kill him... hate him... kill him...make him pay..._ '

"Is... this... it...?" said Sasuke. He lift himself up with the last ounces of strength and looked at Itachi in the eye as he kept talking. "My kind and caring aniki... became a psycho... and a murderer... all for the sake of power...? Who are you, Itachi... what have you become... Nii-san?"

"You still don't get it, do you, Sasuke..." said Itachi. "I merely acted like the brother you always wished for so I could measure your true strength."

"You will become someone worthy of rivaling my own powers, such is your potential. As much as you don't want to admit, you're envious of me. You've always been, and you dream of surpassing me... And that is why I'm letting you live, you see? It's for my own well-being, otouto, that I'm letting you become more powerful. So I can test myself further. But right now, you're so weak that there is no point in killing you..."

Sasuke's tears continued to fall, his well being having been psychologically scarred for life.

"My foolish otouto... If you really want to kill me, you must curse me... hate me... and barely survive within the darkness. Run away, and keep running... and hold on to your dear life... And then one day... you may show your face to me... once you own the same eyes I do."

And with that, Itachi opened his eyes, **Mangekyou** ablaze, casting one last glare filled with killing intent, which made Sasuke pale in terror once again, and slowly make his way to unconsciousness. Before that however, Itachi glanced at his otouto's face one last time, and expressed surprise. Sasuke's irises were black and blood red with a six pointed shuriken like star shape and finally a ebony pupil with ebony on the outside of the shape.

' _It must have been a_ _fluke_ ,' Uchiha Itachi thought, jumping away from the premises.

Little did he know his younger brother had attained the **Mangekyou Sharingan** as well.

 **-The Very Next Day-**

Before they knew it classes had begun again. A few months passed uneventfully, though Naruto's marks in all subjects had improved dramatically. Sasuke and Hinata still had the best scores in the class, but after a long summer of training Naruto was catching up quickly. All three were unmatched in their taijutsu, though there were a few students that showed great promise. Kiba appeared to have been training as well, and even Sakura seemed to have done more work than expected on her taijutsu. Shikamaru had developed what Yugao called a 'lazy style' of sparring, but it was surprisingly effective and kept his opponents guessing. What Shino lacked in power he made up for in speed and reach. Chōji continued to be a timid boy, though if anybody mentioned his taboo he might be considered an unstoppable force. Ino seemed entirely unconcerned with taijutsu, preferring work on her chakra control and ninjutsu. Yugao could not complain about that too much; it was important to stick with your strengths, so long as you had the basics down in all areas.

Rankings seemed to change every week among the three friends. More often than not Sasuke came out on top; he had no chance of outlasting Naruto in a very long match, so he had to either knock his friend down or score his points fast, and he succeeded the majority of the time. When he failed to do either, Naruto claimed the top spot in their sparring for the day. Hinata was not far behind either, and even managed to win once or twice a week. Instead of pride in that accomplishment, however, she chastised herself for not doing better, something her father instilled into her.

Shortly after Naruto's eighth birthday, in mid-October, everything changed. The news came to Yugao in the middle of the night via an ANBU agent knocking on her door. "Meet me at the academy, room 201-A." With that brief message he was gone, vanishing like a wraith in the night. Yugao squinted at the moon worriedly, wondering if the reddish tint was just her imagination. She then closed the door of her apartment and leaping off the balcony towards the academy.

Room 201-A was an auditorium usually used for presentations. Now was no exception, as most of the instructors and many jōnin and ANBU sat or stood around worriedly. Every one of them knew this was an emergency situation, but nobody yet knew why. Slowly, a shrouded figure made his way to the dimly lit podium, a trail of white smoke drifting behind him. The Hokage's voice was hard and wracked with anguish, sadness, and rage all in one. His killer intent filled the room and sent shivers through even some of the ANBU. This was serious indeed.

"Konohagakure Shinobi," he began formally, keeping the shaking from his voice. "A few hours ago, Hound entered the Uchiha compound to investigate a report of suspicious activity. Upon arrival, it was discovered that the entire Uchiha clan has been... slaughtered." The collective gasps almost outnumbered the disbelieving stares. Nobody could have managed such a thing; the Uchiha were arguably the strongest clan in the village, many of their members possessing the **Sharingan**. There was only one group that _might_ have been able to manage it, and even then...

"The culprit," the Sandaime continued, gripping the edge of the podium with such ferocity that the wood splintered around his fingers, "Is Uchiha Itachi."

Yugao's mind had gone blank at the announcement. The tragedy was horrific in of itself, but Sasuke... One of her students and more importantly Naruto's "rival". When Itachi's name fell there were cries of outrage from the gathered audience, but Yugao could only stare, unable to come to terms with what she was hearing. Her partner when it came to watching over Naruto and Goku was so much of a pacifist that him... ITACHI UCHIHA, murdering his own clan in cold-blood, was damn near blasphemy.

"There was only one survivor, one we assumed was left out of pity or attachment. Uchiha Sasuke has been placed in protective custody with Ibiki and will be interviewed as soon as he is awake. Itachi is being placed in Konoha's Bingo Book as an S-Rank missing-nin as we speak. He is not to be trusted, and any and all information concerning him is to be surrendered to myself or Ibiki. That is all." The Hokage turned sharply to slowly retreat into the shadows, tailed by several ANBU and his advisors.

 **-The Beginning of The Academy In The Same Day-**

"Due to certain unfavorable circumstances regarding Sasuke, class is cancelled for today," Yugao said flatly, standing slowly and looking over her class. None of them looked like they would be able to focus on their studies today. Hell, she wouldn't be able to. "I'll see you all tomorrow." One by one they stood and exited the room silently, none of them wanting to be the first to mention why they were all upset. As the last student left the room – Shino, looking straight faced as Yugao could tell behind his sunglasses and high collar – Yugao looked to the top row. Hinata was still quavering from the news, but she managed to stand up and leave the class. That left Naruto, whom simply staring at his instructor with a pleading expression, eyes asking why such a thing had to happen.

"Let's go Naruto. We're going to the park."

A few minutes later found Yugao and Naruto walking side by side towards the west side of the village, their shadows long in the rising sunlight.

"Do they know who did it, sensei?" Naruto asked quietly after a while, the sun's glare in his bright blue eyes. He looked older all of a sudden, much older than the eight-year-old he was. Yugao hesitated, but decided it was better she say it than the truth be overheard from gossip.

"Sasuke's aniki, Uchiha Itachi." Naruto's wide-eyed disbelief was merited. Sasuke only ever spoke highly of his brother, and Yugao knew well the genius Itachi was.

"Itachi? By himself?" The child's brain was trying to put together how that was even possible. He knew well that there were shinobi that had were skilled enough to take on a lot of enemies by themselves, but the entire Uchiha clan? Sasuke had told him vaguely how many people there were in the clan; they had their own miniature town basically.

"Itachi is considered a genius among geniuses of the Uchiha clan, Naruto. That's why Sasuke looked up to him so much. Itachi went to the academy and graduated in only a year, at the age of seven. He became a chūnin when he was ten, an ANBU agent at eleven, and was an ANBU captain at thirteen." Naruto's bewildered expression increased in magnitude as the Uchiha's accomplishments were listed. Most students did not even graduate from the academy until they were eleven or twelve, but Sasuke's brother had been in ANBU by then. Only a genius could be admitted to the special forces at that age. He began to understand how such a thing had been possible, especially by somebody who was trusted by his people.

"What happens now?" He asked dismally, wondering if his friend would ever be the same again.

"I don't know, Naruto," Yugao sighed, which elicited an incredulous look from her student. "I don't know everything, kiddo," she chided gently, allowing herself to smirk. "What I do know is that it will be hard. When you see Sasuke again he might not be the same; he might never be the same. I don't know what he'll do, either. But just try to be there for him, and know that this world is a very cruel place with no mercy. Somethings that don't have reason to them happen regardless, because that's just how the world works, nothing is ever fine and dandy."

 **-Four Months Later-**

Three months passed as the boys continued to train. Goku stood alone near the beach after their daily routine. He wasn't winded from the workout anymore, which he had to admit was amazing, it was just a warm up to him and Krillin now. He knew he was much stronger then he'd been when him and Krillin had started the training two years and a quarter ago. He and Krillin had also both been sparing every afternoon after their workout for the past four months intensively. Today Goku had decided to postpone the spar and work on controlling his energy, yearning to learn or do a legitimate Ki attack.

With great concentration, Goku accumulated unstable, cerulean ki in his right palm. " **HA**!" He called out, not knowing what to name his attack, launching the weak cannon of energy into the ocean, sending multiple mid-sized ripples throughout. Though it was certainly progress to him, it wasn't anywhere near the level of Master Rohsi's **Kamehameha Wave**. Speaking of that...

" **KAAAA** … **MEEEE** … **HAAAAA** … **MEEEEE** … **HAAAAA**!" Goku shouted as he sent his own **Kamehameha Wave** into the ocean, making slightly more waves in the ocean than before, making the boy sweat bullets from exertion. His grasp of Ki control was sub-par at best, proof was that simply two Ki blasts took plenty of effort to execute, and they had lackluster results.

"Very impressive," a voice said from behind him. Goku turned to see Master Roshi standing behind him. "Want some instruction?"

"I think I've got it down!" Goku claimed, a grin plastered on his face. "It was pretty easy to learn and do."

"You may have learned to perform the move very quickly," Roshi said, "but you aren't nowhere near having mastered it yet."

"How's that?" Goku asked, puzzled.

"You need to learn how to put more of your energy into it with less effort," the master replied. "Try holding the energy and putting as much of your energy into it as possible before releasing it. That will build your endurance faster and let you make stronger **Kamehameha Waves** or Ki blast's in general. And learn to control your energy output as well to make your attacks more efficient."

"Why do you wanna train me now all of a sudden?" Goku asked. "You've never been doing this before."

"I didn't think you two were quite ready," Roshi said. "Now I think you both are."

"Alright then, let's do this!" Goku said, cupping his hands together at his side, going through the same motions. " **KAAAAAAA** … **MEEEEEEE** … **HAAAAAAA** … **MEEEEEEE** …" Goku said as he gathered the blue energy in his hands. He continued to push more energy into his hands until he thought he had no more to give, which wasn't a lot in the first place. " **HAAAAAAAAA**!" He finished as he let the much larger **Kamehameha Wave** go out into the ocean, creating a much larger ripple and making much larger waves in the sea.

"Very good," Roshi said. "I'm amazed you've managed to channel so much energy into it so easily. It took me nearly fifty years to master that move completely, though yours is still eons away from being mastered."

"It was nothing," Goku said, panting even more at the exertion of Ki. "I really need to work on it more, don't I?"

"Of course you do, it's the only way to improve. Now, if you do as many of those as you can everyday, you'll be able to do more and more, waste less energy, and get stronger eventually," Roshi explained. "Now to work on your reflexes."

"How do we to do that?" Goku inquired.

"Well," Roshi responded. "Since you seem to like to spar so much I figured we'd get your reflexes tuned by having you spar against someone much stronger than you."

"Hell yeah, let's do this!" The Saiyan exclaimed as he took a Kame fighting stance. "You've been owing me a good spar for two years Sensei!"

"Wait a second," Roshi said. "Krillin," he called.

"Yes master," the monk said running over from where he'd been quietly meditating. Since he'd seen Goku use energy waves, he was determined to duplicate the move as well with just as much if not more efficiency.

"Come over here," Roshi instructed. "You two are going to both spar against yours truly."

"Alright let's get on with it," Goku said, tensing up. "I'm ready."

"Right," Krillin said also getting into a stance. "Get ready Sensei!"

The two boys both charged at the old master, throwing poorly coordinated punches at the old man's head. Roshi easily ducked Goku's punch and casually sidestepped Krillin's. However, that wouldn't mark the end of the attempted onslaught as the two boys kept coming at the old master. Yet Roshi proved himself to be too good, as he continued to block the uncoordinated attacks without much of hassle.

Goku continued to throw kicks and punches at the old master, but Roshi still managed to stay ahead of the blows, even with Krillin attacking him at the same time. He then realized that to beat their master they had to work together as a team.

The young Saiyan saw Krillin throw a left hook at Roshi out of the corner of his eye. Goku shot a foot out as quickly as he could, catching the master in the head with his kick as he dodged Krillin's punch. Roshi went staggering back from the blow, but he quickly recovered as expected.

"Very good," the master said. "You're starting to get it now. But now I'm going to quit going easy on you, yet I won't use my full strength." With that Roshi charged at his two pupils. First he threw a punch at Goku that the boy managed to block with great difficulty. At the same time, Krillin came in with a kick aimed at the old man's stomach but Roshi managed to block just in time, returning a punch to Krillin's gut for the boy's trouble. Goku came in behind the old man with a left hook at Roshi's head while he thought the old man was distracted, but received an elbow to the face for his troubles too. The Saiyan then shot up almost immediately and grinned, still eager for more. Now this was the kind of fight he'd been waiting for!

He charged back into the fray and started throwing kicks and punches savagely at Roshi while Krillin did the same from the other side. Roshi managed to stay ahead of almost all of the blows, but even he couldn't block or dodge them all. To the old master's credit though, he dealt out much more blows than he'd received whilst holding back.

Goku continued to throw kicks and punches at the old master, but he knew that even his endurance wasn't infinite. As if on cue, Roshi went on the offensive and drove a fist into the boy's stomach, doubling him over and making him lose breath. Without wasting a second, Roshi shot his knee up catching Goku in the chin, sending him flying up into the air. Roshi evaded an incoming kick from Krillin and jumped up, catching the palm haired-Saiyan with an axe handle sending him flying into the sand hard. Seconds later, he turned his attention to Krillin. He sent a kick at Krillin's head, sending the boy flying into a rock formation.

The old man shot to follow the monk, but was interrupted as he was hit in the back of the head by a small yellow Ki blast. He turned to see Goku standing in his small crater with one hand covering his ribs and the other outstretched having shot the blast. The boy's white tank top was ripped a little, and he also sported a few scratches and bruises on his super durable skin.

"I'm not finished yet," Goku said, charging at the old man and throwing numerous kicks and punches at him. Unfortunately for him, Roshi dodged them all and returned several, pummeling the young Saiyan with blows of his own. Minutes later, Roshi landed yet another devastating blow to Kakarot's face and followed it with a roundhouse kick to the boy's ribs sending him flying to the ground once again in pain.

"No, Goku!" Krillin shouted, scrambling towards his master to try and stop his friend from taking a beating. Roshi turned to see his other pupil running towards him at full speed and sighed. The former monk attacked with great ferocity, but to no avail, his master being much too good for him and his fellow student.

Roshi then blocked his pupils follow up blow with a knee, and then flung him aside via a backhand with his left hand. Krillin caught himself with his hands on the sand and performed a back-flip to right himself. Kicking up sand and seeing his friend struggling to get up, he tried the only attack that might surprise his master; the Turtle Destruction Wave.

Kicking up more sand at his Sensei in a futile attempt to distract him, Krillin cupped his hands at his right side, charging the infamous attack. Just because he wasn't as strong or as gifted as Goku happened to be didn't mean he was completely inferior, he still wanted to excel and prove his worth to everyone.

" **KAAA**... **MEEE**... **HAAAA**... **MEEEE**..." The former monk shouted, making azure Ki form in his cupped palms. This made Roshi have an alarmed expression on his face, not deterring Krillin in the slightest.

"No, stop Krillin!" He ordered, but it was drowned out regardless.

" **HAAAAA**!" The voice bellowed and a cerulean energy wave launching with it. Though it was very uncanny and weak, it went to show Krillin had made a vast improvement as well. Goku, seeing his friend needed help, got to his feet and cupped his hands at his side as well for a quick wave. " **KA** … **ME** … **HA** … **ME** …" he chanted as he put as much energy as he could into the wave aimed at the old man as quickly as possible. " **HAAA**!" He shouted, sending the wave at Roshi to coincide with Krillins.

"You're still not at my level kids, **Kamehameha**!" Roshi chanted as he gathered energy of his own quickly and sent it flying at their combo beam, easily sending both beams back at the boys. Abandoning his attack, Goku shoved Krillin and jumped back himself to avoid taking the full brunt of the attack. They were still hit with tremendous force though, causing an imminent explosion. When the smoke cleared, Goku and Krillin still stood, even though their clothes were even more worn and torn then before. The young Saiyan started forward, but quickly collapsed due to unconsciousness from the attack, having taken many burns from it. By the time he hit the sand, Krillin already had his face imprinted on it, knocked out as well.

Roshi grinned. "I've still got it," he said to himself having beaten both his students with a minuscule amount of effort. ' _Though if Goku and Krillin keep this up, they'll definitely surpass me in a few years. If I don't wanna fall behind, I'll have to start training again to stay ahead of them. In my old age, I've only gotten weaker and in lesser fighting shape, and it's showing._ '


	7. Changes in Mindset

_Chapter 7: Changes in Mindset_

* * *

 **-Three Years Later In Konoha-**

"Prepare to lose, Sasuke-teme," Naruto said, crouching into his fighting stance taught by Kakashi. Over the past years, he's been missing Goku dearly, wondering what he was up to and how much stronger he's gotten. He's been training with the Hatake and learning the basics and more from him, progressively getting better with the fundamentals. He'd been ranked as one of the best in his year already and they had only one year left before they became Genin.

"Hn. Dobe," Sasuke responded also falling into his own Uchiha fighting stance. The boy was mentally scarred for life after the fateful night over three years ago in the form of a massacre. Since then, he had never exactly been the same. The Uchiha wanted nothing more than to avenge his clan and kill Itachi, and he knew the quickest source to gaining more strength was to train with Naruto. He'd been training with Naruto and Kakashi every single chance he could to learn more and advance in his strength.

Naruto rushed Sasuke immediately, his punch ready to be thrown. However, Sasuke swatted his fist to the side and tried to punch him in the gut. Naruto grabbed his fist and pulled Sasuke in for a knee to the stomach, which was blocked by Sasuke's free hand. The two growled at each other before breaking apart to gain more clarity.

That moment quickly ended as Naruto rushed forward, his hand clearly wanting to strike the Uchiha in the chest. Sasuke twirled to the side, getting behind Naruto and attempting to lash out with a spinning hook kick, however Naruto turned in time and caught the kick with both of his hands, although it hurt.

Naruto growled. He was on the back foot. Sasuke jumped and span in midair, twirling his caught leg around in Naruto's grasp as he came in with a sweeping kick to the head. Both of Naruto's hands were preoccupied, and he was too close to dodge. Naruto was hit straight in the face, spitting out blood, and making him stumble. He got his equilibrium back and then glared at Sasuke.

"Nice one teme, but let's see if you can stop this!"

Naruto charged Sasuke, cocking both of his fists back. Sasuke dodged both strikes, however Naruto wanted this. He clasped his hands on the back of the Uchiha's neck and brought him down into his knee, snapping Sasuke's head back, and forcing blood from his nose.

Sasuke stumbled and Naruto took advantage of it. Naruto grabbed his chin and pushed back on it, forcing Sasuke to the ground, however the young Uchiha span and kicked Naruto in the side, forcing him off of him. Naruto stood as Sasuke did, both looking at each other with a new light.

' _Sasuke isn't invincible, but he's really damn good,_ ' Naruto thought. While he didn't think he was, compared to all the other Academy students Sasuke seemed invincible.

' _The dobe is a real challenge. You've earned some respect_ ,' Sasuke thought, before he crouched preparing to strike.

Naruto then blocked Sasuke's punch before attempting to slam his elbow into Sasuke's face. However, the raven haired boy avoided the blow and lashed out with a pushing front kick in attempt to push Naruto back. Naruto latched onto his leg as he was hit in the chest, dragging Sasuke along with him. They both tumbled over and shot up immediately, ready to go for another round.

"I'll win this fight Naruto/Sasuke!"

 **-With Goku-**

"Okay, this is the last day both of you are training here," Roshi started, earning confused looks from his proteges. "Goku, you have to go back to Konoha by order of the Sandaime, and Krillin, Kumogakure wants you back to join their shinobi forces. So to see how far you've both came, first thing that we're going to do is test your speed. Krillin, I take it that you'd like to be the first to run this 500 meter dash."

"Sure thing Sensei!" Krillin said, a smile plastered on his face as he reminisced the first day of training. He slowly walked over to the starting line while Roshi awaited him about a good one hundred meters away with a stopwatch in hands and Goku awaited at the finish line. "Try to keep up with me."

"Go!" The old mentor instructed.

Krillin quickly exerted all of his speed, racing towards the tree where his fellow student stood waiting for him, his speed causing Goku's hair to flow wildly.

"Five point five seconds… a drastic improvement." Roshi said, praising the first of his pupils. "Alright Goku, you're up now."

Goku did as instructed and lined up directly behind the starting line, ready measure his own growth in latent speed and power.

"Go!" Roshi shouted once more, signaling Goku to begin. Goku quickly charged off, closing the distance between himself and the tree at an astounding speed, dwarfing his former time over five years ago as well.

"Four point four seconds," Roshi smiled, shocked by the vast improvement of the boy's speed. "Now, I bet that the two of you want to see how fast your old master can run this once again."

Roshi quickly performed his 500 meter dash, finishing the race at three point one seconds flat, leaving a stunned expression upon Goku's and Krillin's faces as their master swept past there speeds once more.

"Wow! You're even faster than you were last time," Goku commented, astounded by his speed.

"Now, on towards the next test," Roshi said, point towards two fifteen tons rocks. "I want you to push these giant rocks until they're in front of me, and destroy them with a Ki blast." The old mentor demanded before he walked back a few dozen meters from the abiotic creations. And needless to say, with a good amount of effort, both pupils managed to pull it off, with Goku finishing it much easier due to his latent, Saiyan strength.

"Good, good. You've both improved to the point that the only thing I can do is give you some pointers, that's all. Because of that fact, the time has come for you boy's to venture out into the world for yourselves now. I've trained you for over five years and I'm proud to have called you as my students. You'll always be my pupils, but I've taught you everything I could and know of, even though you're still not on my level yet. I know you'll both grow to do great things in this world filled with greed, glory and evil. And I have gifts for you before you depart," Roshi stated, tossing out two boxes to his students.

Goku nodded, catching his and ripping through it with ease. He held up his new Gi and smiled, it was the classic turtle hermit uniform with Roshi's Kame kangi on the back. Krillin received a similar gi, but his had no undershirt beneath it. They smirked, slipping them on and moving around at a fast pace.

"I love it, check it out!" Goku stated, his Gi being orange in front with a navy tee-shirt underneath it, a navy belt, orange dogi pants, and navy boots with an orange line going down the center of the shoes. Krillin's outfit was an orange tank top with no undershirt, a navy belt, orange pants, and white socks with blue fighting shoes.

Both have gotten much taller, well mostly just Goku and lost much of their previous baby fat, replacing the majority with an obvious muscular frame. Or at least as much as you can get in a twelve year old body.

"These are simply amazing!" Krillin claimed, firing multiple consecutive punches in a few milliseconds then doing the same thing with kicks.

"Yes, they are," Roshi commented, his hands behind his back. "Your body should feel much lighter instead of having all those weighted clothes and turtle shells holding you back. And they're also much more resistant to damage than other clothes. Now, it's time for you both to leave this island and go see the world for yourselves. You boys have great potential and I hope see you both progress later. Now get the hell off my island!"

"Yes Sensei!" They both shouted, saluting their Sensei.

After proceeding to leave the premises and get back to the mainland, the duo decided to go their separate ways. With Krillin returning to Kumo and Goku returning to Konoha respectively. They promised each other that they would meet again, somehow through someway. Little did they know the future of what was to come...

 **-With Goku-**

After he and Krillin split up, some soldier that had a R&R logo showed up to take his Dragonball. Knocking him unconscious with ease of course, the man dropped a radar looking thing. He took a moment to examine it and found his own Dragonball on the hunk of technology. That meant it was some kind of Dragonball ball detector, or more like a Dragonball radar thingy. He had no clue that there was even more Dragonball's other than his own, but they seemed valuable. Following the Radar to the next closest Dragon-ball across plenty of mountains, it led him to his current location...

Goku's eyes immediately locked onto a small tepee perfectly set up directly in front of the base of some tower, with two completely different people sitting close to it, one an incredibly tall, shirtless and muscular Native American man and the other a much shorter, less muscular, and lighter-skinned boy who appeared to be no older than five… maybe six years old. Realizing that they had visitors, the much older and bigger man approached Goku, a spear held firmly in his hand as a form of protection.

"I am Bora, the Village Chief of the Karinga Tribe. This… is my son, Upa. We, along with the rest of our people, look over and protect these sacred lands of the legendary Korin. We have come here to investigate the matter of dozens of strange men foraging these sacred forests." Bora simply explained to the young Saiyan. Although he didn't seem quite like the others who had arrived on these lands hours earlier… it was still his job as the Chief of his Village to look over the lands on which his people had lived and worked on for ages. He had to at the least find out what this kids business was with his land before he forced them to leave. "What business is it that brings you to these sacred lands, young traveler?" The bulky Karingan protectively questioned the Saiyan, his arm out to stop the child to his side from going forward.

"I dunno where this place is, I just came to look for a Dragonball," Goku confidently answered, taking a step to meet the Native American warrior face-to-face. He was much shorter than the man, his eyes coming to meet the middle of Bora's bulky torso. "It's on a radar some guy I beat up dropped sir. I guess you've seen some of those bad guys too?"

"I have. You are actually the third human to have come and search these sacred lands in the past week. The first two groups were villainous… large groups of extremely evil men carrying small explosives and automatic firearms of some kind," Bora exclaimed, explaining the long week he had gone through to the group of teenagers. "Those men were searching for an artifact that I just so happened to find near an erupting volcano a few days ago… going so far as to threaten the lives of all of my people in return for this… Dragon Sphere or whatever they refer to." The Karingan chief continued, showing off the Five-Star Dragonball that he had somehow managed to find to Goku.

"Whoa… those men sound like they were up to no good." Goku gulped, picturing the idea of armies of gunmen surrounding him and threatening to kill all that he had grown to love. "I guess you managed to defeat them all?"

"Yes, their bullets were not quite as strong as they had thought… judging by how I was left completely unaffected by them. As you can see from that large pile of corpses, there isn't enough of them left to be a threat to anyone." Bora sternly replied, shifting the traveler's attention to a pile of bloodied human skeletons, which appeared to have been completely scalped of their skin before being stacked and pierced by a giant spear. "As the defender of this hallow ground I will do whatever is necessary to protect this place and my family," his face impassive and it would have been threatening if it weren't for the fact that Goku could sense that he was beyond Bora's strength, not sheer strength but Ki wise.

"Who are those guys," Goku thought out loud, walking around the clearing. At least then, they would know who exactly they were dealing with in this battle for the Dragonballs. Something interrupted his thoughts, the Saiyans ebony irises caught sight of some sort of object lying in the very bush he was looking at, the object appeared to be a military helmet of some sort… though this armored helmet was branded with an insignia that he'd heard of before. That insignia was one feared throughout the entire planet… the same crimson red symbol he saw earlier that shaped itself into the form of some type of bow, hoisting two completely white, capital R's on the inside of said symbol. "We're dealing with the most feared crime organization on the face of the planet, the Red Ribbon Army. I've heard of them from my Sensei."

"I don't think they're that strong!" Goku remarked, confident in his abilities. However, he wasn't proficient at sensing Ki yet, so maybe there was someone nearby plenty stronger than he was, "Except for maybe their technology, but that's about it."

"They may not all that powerful to you and I… but they have plenty of complex, destructive technology that can be used to murder hundreds in the blink of an eyes, as well as a large army of thousands… if not millions of men at their disposal. For all we know, their technology could also have been upgraded to the point in which they could hurt either of us." Bora briefly explained his concerns, summing up the manners of why the Red Ribbon Army was such a dreaded organization in the first place. "But I won't cower in the face of the enemy, I must protect the people of this village!"

"Well yeah, I've heard they have tech almost on par with Capsule Corporation. They won't stop goin' after the Dragonballs for some reason," Goku commented in thought. He was extremely alarmed at the idea of someone rivaling Capsule Corps intelligence, but he'd find some way to stop them. Learning that they created the Dynocaps that Krillin used, anyone with that much smarts that was evil couldn't be anything good.

"Now that we've gotten that over with…what's that really tall tower behind you?" Goku humbly asked the bulky Karingan chief.

"People come here to train under the great Master Korin," Bora started, answering Goku's question. "Legends have stated that if one ever has the strength and endurance to climb to the very top of this tower here, Korin Tower, you will meet Korin himself. It's said that Korin will give you the mystical Sacred Water, which is said to boost one's strength incredibly after just a single sip of this liquid. Many have tried to complete this impossible task and most have easily failed, giving up climbing the incredibly long path to the top. However, rumors have it that only Master Roshi himself has ever reached the top of Korin Tower and taken a drink of its legendary drink." The man finished off, concluding his statement.

"So Roshi-Sensei was the only one to do it?!" Goku spoke, his traditional smirk painted upon his face after receiving a nod, "Well I'm gonna do it too."

 **-Three Days Following-**

Three days managed to both come by and away quite quickly, without much incident, since Goku had accidentally ventured to the Sacred Land of Korin. Instead of attempting to climb the tower, Goku stayed down with the Village, helping them out . Each day, a small fleet of around four or five soldiers sent to retrieve the Dragonballs by the Red Ribbon Army would arrive to the scene where their comrades had never returned from, hoping to take out all the inhabitants of the place, including the Saiyan that was Goku, the muscular Bora, and the child Upa… however, their fate had was sealed when Goku, Bora, and Upa had stepped up, easily taking all of them out. Even with the threat looming, Upa and Bora had still decided to retain their normal lives, coming to and from their tepee throughout the day to check on their fellow Karingans, who happened to be inhabitants of the nearby forest village that Bora and Upa knew as their home. The Saiyan had actually been enjoying his time in the wilderness, being reminded of his childhood days alongside Gohan in the forest areas of Mount Paozu. He had happened to spend most of the day either training as ferociously as he could or sparring with Bora whenever he had not been eating or even giving Upa tips on combat from time to time.

After an hour-long hunting session, Goku slowly returned from the large forest, hoisting the freezing body of a lifeless deer. Following a few yards behind the Saiyan were Bora and Upa, each carrying their own quarry, Bora's being a pair of red furred foxes, their lifeless bodies dripping a bit of blood as he went on, and Upa's hunt blessing him with a small rabbit that he could officially say he took down himself. Goku had a strong love for the outdoors and didn't mind the hunting, he enjoyed it actually. It seemed to be smooth sailing...for now.

The peaceful day that Goku was currently enjoying just had to be interrupted as the thundering sound of an incredibly large piece of a chiseled, stone pillar came crashing down to the ground, the force emitting from it causing the pillar to thrust into the dirt at an unreal speed. Goku's eyes never left the scene of the crime as he pierced at the man whom had been seemingly racing through the sky on the discarded pillar. In the Saiyan's line of vision was an incredibly skinny, yet still quite tall man who appeared to be in his fifties. His physical appearance consisted of a pair of small, beady eyes, a long pointed nose, and a thin pencil mustache. He had greasy, black hair tied back in a braided ponytail and wore a pink colored chang pao, the kanji upon the front of it baring the word Kill. And the phrase dubbed 'KILL YOU' was etched upon the back. His eyes glared daggers at the Saiyan, the look of dedication and viciousness making Goku a bit wary.

The unknown man slowly stepped off of his form of transportation, completely ignoring the Saiyan that was curiously glaring at him, electing to advance towards Bora and Upa's tepee instead. Bora, feeling a bit uneasy over the mysterious man that had approached his home, walked outside of the tepee, meeting the elder face-to-face.

"What business is it that you have here?" The village chief harshly questioned the man, his spear gripped tightly in his hands. Judging by the kanji inscribed upon his clothing, whoever this man was, he seemed to be extremely bad news and Bora was not about to allow any harm come to either his village, his guest, and especially not his own son. He'd be damned if that happened.

"I am a hit-man," The man plainly answered, his hands patiently crossed in front of his chest.

"A hit-man you say?" Bora repeated the hired assassin, his grip on the bladed weapon in his hand becoming that much firmer. "Well whoever you are, I suggest that you go back to wherever it is that you came from… your kind isn't welcomed here at all." The Karingan grumbled, the suggestion being more of a threat than your average, friendly suggestion.

This guy had to have been hired by the Red Ribbon Army to finally come and take the Dragonball away because nothing else really happened in the life of his Karinga Tribe, until the fateful encounter he had finding the Dragonball. If he had known about the amount of harm he was placing in his tribe and people when he decided to take the mystical orb… he would have thrown the object aside, knowing that such beauty was not worth the lives of his family.

"I won't be staying long," The man sharply responded, his voice staying incredibly stern and emotionless. After all, once he had finally finished his mission quickly and efficiently, he would easily be off… on his way to receiving the millions of Ryo that awaited him at the mansion of his employer. "The Red Ribbon Army has sent me here to tie up their loose ends and take the Dragonball that you just so happen to have in your possession… and please, call me Tao… Mercenary Tao."

"What's so special about the Dragonball anyways?!" Goku cut in, a trail of sweat coming down the side of his head, "Why is it so necessary to you and the RR?"

"I guess you haven't heard yet, but if you gather all seven of em', you'll be granted any wish you desire," Tao answered, not even looking at the brat, "Now stay out of this or I'll kill you too."

"There's no way in hell I'm going to let you lay a finger on this Dragonball!" Bora fiercely growled, spreading his legs as he placed himself in a fighting stance. "If your plan was to just take it… I'm afraid that it is no longer an option. You're going to have to get through me first!"

"Oh… how funny. Did you actually believe that I was merely going to just kindly ask for you to fork it over?" The mercenary hysterically questioned. It was not his job to be kind, he was a hit-man, trained to be ruthless and know nothing but killing to gain money, like the infamous rogue-ninja Kakuzu. Once this threat was finished and the Dragonball's were secured, he would be sitting on a huge amount of Ryo. Then, before he would leave the area, he could deal with that brat who was glaring at him, just for a bit of fun before his work would be completed. And maybe his whole tribe to shit on Bora's grave.

"It seems that you have the wrong idea over that my dear friend. I don't intend on asking any questions. I am plainly going to effortlessly retrieve this Dragonball from the lifeless remains of your body. Should take two minutes at most."

Without saying another word, Mercenary Tao shot forward, launching a foot firmly into Bora's gut. Seeing a bit of saliva coughed up on the mere impact of the blow, the employed killer mercilessly followed up his attack with a vicious right-handed hook to the Native American's face. The sheer amount of force invested into the strike was much more than enough needed to send Bora soaring through the sky, a number of yards away from the tepee he previously stood directly in front of. The slender assassin that was Tao let out a single strand of snickering, slowly and calmly walking towards the fallen warrior, Bora.

Seeing this, Goku immediately hopped out of his seat upon a tall boulder, positioning himself into a Kame stance behind Mercenary Tao. "Back off," The Saiyan growled, hoping to gain the mercenary's attention with his sudden outburst. "You're not gonna kill anyone as long as I'm here!" The Saiyan added, a bit of spite and anger mixed into his voice.

There was no way that he was going to allow this random man who was employed by the same Red Ribbon Army that had been harassing himself and Bora's village out of nowhere and plainly put an end to the muscular village chief's life. While he could feel that Bora didn't possess the power to best the mercenary on his own and he didn't either, but together they would have a small shot.

"N-No," Bora managed to let out, coughing up a bit of blood as he slowly pulled himself back upon his feet. While the blow had charged him with an excellent display of both speed and strength, he could not allow Goku to take on Tao when it was his land that they were in. The mercenary had come for him so that meant he was obligated to protecting these lands against the likes of Tao. "Now w-wait a minute Goku. If he's come here for me… I cannot allow you to fight my battles for me. It is my obligation to protect these sacred lands from anyone and anything like him. He will have to deal with me before I fork over this Dragonball." The man bellowed, pointing his spear.

"One does not deal with pathetic insects," Mercenary Tao interjected, a smirk beginning to shine upon his face as the battle grew nearer. He was a trained killer, having been through years… decades of training to get where he was. There was no way that he was going to allow a target to gain the upper hand in battle, something that had never occurred before in is entire, extremely extensive career. "One simply steps on them, crushing them under his boots."

"Bora," Goku slowly stated, meeting the Indian's glare with his own coal black eyes. "You can't win on by yourself! But working together, maybe we can! So please, let me help you kick this guy's ass." The Saiyan pleaded, wanting to get in a good fight with this Tao guy and save Bora's life.

"I'm still obliged to at least try to take this threat on," Bora proudly growled, his eyes turning to dangerously glare at the mercenary that stood before him. He was going to do all in his power to make sure that this mysterious mercenary knew that if he ventured to these scared lands with an evil purpose, there was bound to be some type of harsh consequences, even if it just so happened to be death itself.

"It is my duty to protect these lands, so this is my fight and mines alone… even if it is death that awaits me!" The father of Upa let out as he charged towards the incoming assassin, wildly slashing his sharpened spear at the trained slayer of innocents. Unfazed by the sight of the oncoming blade slashing his way, Mercenary Tao did nothing more than merely lean slightly to his right, watching as the spear slashed only inches away from his ear. At the absolute last second the hired killer reached his arm out to the side, grasping ahold of the mighty titan's spear. Establishing a firm grip upon the bladed weapon, Tao used but a fraction of his strength, using only his left hand to lift both Bora and his spear at least three feet off of the ground. Aiming his thin finger so close to Bora's chest that the digit grazed exactly where his heart lied, the mercenary let out a single statement.

" **Dodon-Pa**!" Tao snickered, a smirk painted upon his face. Soon he would be on his way back to the headquarters belonging to Commander Red of the Red Ribbon Army, where his five million Ryo was awaiting him. Then, it would be on to his next target and next million Ryo… but in the meantime, he would finish this Bora off and then deal with the little runt that was his son, then the adolescent brat, and finally the rest of his tribe.

An incredibly thin, yellow coated beam of blazing energy shot from the murderer's fingertip, traveling but a foot until it pierced its way straight through Bora's foreskin, painfully entering the man's bulky chest. A large, disgusting glob of blood engulfed immediately shot out of the Native American's mouth in the form of a cough as the devastating ray of ki fiercely followed its path directly through his blood pumping heart, packed with more than enough force necessary to send Bora flying into the base of Korin Tower, a jet of blood soaring from the wound he had just sustained.

Goku watched in shock and horror as the helpless, heavily damaged body of Bora shot through the air thanks to the merciless mercenary that was Tao. The Saiyan could not even move a muscle… could not check on Bora as he knew it was too late… the amount of blood he was losing was unreal. Even if he had not died on impact with the fierce beam of energy, he would most certainly die from the large amount of blood that was escaping his body… pints, or even quarts, with each passing second. A last second gush of blood spiraled out of the large, gory hole in the center of the middle-aged Human's muscular chest as Bora's lifeless body struck the ground on final time, positioned strictly upon the base of Korin Tower, a bit of the tower being able to be seen through the bloodied wound.

Goku's focus then returned to Mercenary Tao, who appeared to showcase a wicked, everlasting smirk upon his face as he held the spear high above his head. "Oh what is that… want your spear back?" The assassin snickered, using all of his strength to hurl the polished javelin towards his target, its original wielder, Bora. Traveling at a speed that rivaled that of a military jet's, the spear charged towards the fallen body of Bora vigorously, a devastating, stomach-turning squishing sound being heard as the bladed side of the weapon impaled the already dead Bora directly between his eyes. "There it is," Tao maniacally laughed as a new-found river of blood slowly oozed and leaked from the Karinga Village chief's newly received wound in his forehead.

Goku's eyes closed shut as the Saiyan witnessed the death of his recently befriended partner, the gruesome scene never leaving his mind and replaying. Tears began to fall little by little at the gruesome death scene that occurred to the poor boy Upa's father. To his sides, the Saiyan's fist clenched shut, his fingers digging into the palm of his hand in anger, blood beginning to drip from the clench. He could have prevented this death if only he was facing off against Tao with Bora. Goku's blood began to violently and infuriatingly course through his veins as his anger spiked past its limits… realizing what had just happened once more. He was going to make sure this assassin paid for what had just happened… he was going to suffer for this one way or another. No matter how long it took, he would get what's coming to him, and he'd make sure of it. HE would make sure that Bora's death won't go to waste, that Tao get's utterly murdered for his cruelty. Hatred began flowing into the young Saiyan as his body glowed with Ki.

"F-F-Father… NO!" Upa viciously let out, his anger revealing itself as he forced out an incredibly loud scream, his head slamming into the lifeless corpse of his father's in guiltiness and disappointment as his hands dug into the grassy field that was his father's final resting place. Turning to his father's killer, the son of Bora angrily pointed a finger at the man, managing to say between gritted teeth and an ocean of tears, "You! You killed my father!" The boy spat out, his eyes glued shut in a thick layer of waterworks.

"It's okay, don't worry one bit," Tao lightly chuckled, raising a finger, aimed directly where the five year-old comforted the lifeless body of Bora. "Fine, although I did not plan on doing this when I agreed to the job… I'll be sure to reunite the both of you in the Afterlife in just another few seconds." The mercenary stated as a blue light began to cloak his index finger.

"I don't think so, bastard," Goku harshly growled, all of a sudden appearing just inches in front of the deadly, hired assassin. Before Tao could even realize what had happened, his **Dodon-Pa** had faded from his finger, the Saiyan before him squeezing his hand with nearly all of the strength that he possessed. Goku's eyes looked down as he heard the cries of Upa ringing through his ears… he knew just how Upa was feeling, knowing exactly how hard it was to have lost a paternal figure, having had to deal with the situation in his life already. "This ends now!"

"And pray tell, how're you gonna stop me?" Tao asked, taunting the Saiyan.

"I dunno, just know that I will!" Goku angrily replied. The Saiyan then caught Tao off guard with a sucker punch to the face infused with Ki, creating a miniature shock-wave. He turned to face Upa, who continued to sulk over Bora's sudden death, "Upa, get outta here, I don't need you dying as well."

Upa then turned to race for shelter behind the rigid structure that was Korin Tower. Halfway through the run, Upa turned to face Goku… a frown planted upon his face as his fist remained clenched to his side. "Goku… please, make him suffer for Dad." The boy stoically exclaimed before he ran off.

"Pathetic child," Tao spat out, his expression blank. "I should thank you… I'm positive my employer is sure to give me an extra million Ryo after I take your life… along with the whole tribes as well!"

"No, you won't," was the simple response.

"I can do as I please… what makes you think otherwise child?" The mercenary spitefully questioned, slowly pushing himself off of the ground. He would make this child pay for all of the trouble that he had put him through. Then, he would have a bit of fun by stripping away the lives of the tribes as well. "Do you know just who you are disrespectfully speaking to? Most people would be cowering in fears… begging for the life that would then be effortlessly stripped from them!"

"I don't really care about who you are!" Goku simply responded to the mercenary. He knew all that he wanted to know already and that was far too much already. "The only thing that I'm positive of is that you're going to die, even you're stronger than me!"

Tao moved like lightening charging at Goku. His fist found itself in the young Saiyan's gut doubling the boy over quickly. Tao didn't let up from there. He sent an elbow into Goku's face, sending the boy flying back into a few trees.

 _'Wow',_ Goku thought. ' _That guy is really fast. I could barely see him move.'_

A few seconds later Goku picked himself up off the ground and wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. "Damnit," the young Saiyan said. "You're obviously stronger than me, but I'm not finished yet."

"You have no idea how out classed you are," Tao said. "But keep on trying, the inevitable will still occur regardless."

"I'm not afraid of you," Goku said as he charged at Tao throwing a flurry of kicks and punches at the assassin. Tao blocked or dodged every one of them and started throwing some kicks and punches of his own. Goku tried to dodge the blows but was unsuccessful. It was all the young Saiyan could do to block most of the blows to minimize the amount of damage done. ' _How's he so strong,'_ Goku thought as he continued to block punches still clearly on the defensive. ' _I can't keep up with him.'_

Tao's fist moved like lightning, hitting Goku in the shoulder sending the boy staggering back. Goku recovered quickly enough and sent a punch at Tao, connecting to the man's chin. Tao flinched a little from the blow and continued to send attacks at the young Saiyan, connecting on ninety percent of them.

"Now it's time to finish you off," Tao said elbowing Goku away from him. The Saiyan rolled over on the ground, tumbling before shooting back up, a white aura of Ki surrounding him. He spread his legs, then cupped his hands to his right side, accumulating cerulean Ki.

"I'm not finished yet, take this..." Goku shouted, charging the wave in his mind, " **KAMEHAMEHAAAAAA**!" This caught the mercenary off guard and force him to block, covering his body with an x-formed block. The wave enveloped Tao's whole body, and when the aftermath cleared up, Tao was seen with his clothes just messed up and his body somewhat charred. Otherwise, he was still in prime condition.

"Is that all?" The assassin asked, enraged at his clothing. Judging by Goku's reaction, he knew he had put everything he had into the wave. Speaking of the preteen, he trudged back inch by inch, afraid. He had put everything he had into that blast and the best he could manage was his clothes being messed up? He knew he was most likely going to die there and now, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Survive this, **Dodon-Pa**!" He shouted, sending the narrow beam of yellow energy at Goku. The beam hit him full on, enlarging upon contact and driving him back like a missile, moving at a high velocity, knocking the wind out of him. The Saiyan was sent flying until he hit the base of the tower, falling to the ground, presumably dead. The Dragonball that he was looking for conveniently rolled towards him from the Saiyan's unconscious form, and the Mercenary picked it up.

"Whew, I need some new clothes," Tao stated, brushing himself off. "I'll kill the tribe first though, really quickly..." And he did as told, with Upa hiding out of sight from Tao. He continued to cry in silence as his whole tribe was massacred by the hit-man known as Mercenary Tao. He found himself lucky however, as Tao had seeming forgotten about him, making sure he stayed alive.

"I guess my work here is done, now onto millions of Ryo." The assassin mused, picking up his pointed log and leaving the same exact way he came, leaving Upa to mourn at the fall of Goku as well as his whole tribe, including his father.

 **-Thirty Minutes Later-**

Goku awoke to the sight of Upa placing dirt upon him with a shovel. Seeing this, he shot up and shrugged off the dirt, scuffing himself off. He turned to see Upa's solemn expression brighten up just slightly, but the sour mood was never broken.

"Goku...you're alive?" Upa stated in an emotionless fashion, asking the obvious question. "How?"

"I got lucky, his ray hit the Dragonball that I had over my heart," Goku exclaimed with a solemn mood. "But I couldn't stop him from taking Bora's life… I should've joined the fight before it happened." The Saiyan sighed, mentally kicking himself in the ass. If he had just joined the fight, ignoring Bora's command… maybe then, Tao could have been defeated before any lives could be taken away, then, Bora would still be here, fully alive and healthy. However, Bora was a true warrior and wanted go out in such way, which the Saiyan had to respect. Such an action would have been crueler than death for him, but there was no choice for Goku regardless.

"He took the Dragonball you had by the way," Upa stated, wanting no more trouble after today, "But he didn't take ours."

"Give it to me," Goku said with resolve, not taking no for an answer. Hearing the seriousness in his companions voice, he tossed it to him. The Saiyan caught it and had a slight grin on his face, looking towards the tower three-hundred feet in front of him.

"Upa… I'll just have to search for the other Dragonballs with this radar thingy and wish your Tribe back to life if I can." Goku calmly explained, hoping to comfort the little warrior. "And I'll take down Tao and his whole evil army along the way, so nothing like this ever happens again. It's a promise that I'll make reality, I swear on it."

"Once I climb this tower and get stronger, of course!" Goku exclaimed, cheering up a bit. One day, Upa would have his father and whole tribe back and wouldn't have to deal with the grief that he had been forced to deal with once Gohan's life was stripped away because of him. They said the Dragon could grant any wish you want, so that must include revival, right?

"Father… one day I will be reunited with you," Upa said low enough only for him to hear, a tear forming in his eyes. "And then, I'll be there to help you if anything else comes our _way._ " He turned to Goku, and looked at him pleadingly, "Can you show tips on how to fight and use Ki?"

"Yeah, sure," Goku replied, going into a Kame Taijutsu stance. "This is the stance of the Turtle," He began. For the next two hours, Goku went through the basic Katas that his own Master showed him, and he even wrote down a training regimen on a blank sheet of paper each day.

Eventually, the Saiyan knew he had to climb the tower and that's exactly what he did. After feeling like he did a content job thus far, he told Upa to be careful. Then he charged towards the tower, and the momentum causing him to run on it for a few seconds at full speed.

 **-Thirteen Hours Later-**

Goku groaned as he continued to climb the tower. He'd been climbing for thirteen hours and had to admit he was thoroughly exhausted. He didn't know how much farther he had to go. Looking up he saw what looked like the tower expanding outward. Was that the top of it? With renewed motivation and determination, he moved on with a refreshed vigor. In just eight minutes, he reached a small ladder and he climbed up into a small room. He had finally reached the top after struggling to even go strong for seven hours. As soon as he got into the room, he collapsed to the ground, aching and drowsy. It had to be the most daunting task he ever did in one day, but he knew it was over. So with relief, he pushed himself off the ground and stretched, liquid pouring all over his body.

He then looked around but didn't see anyone or anything noteworthy. Walking over to a small stair case, he walked up to the next level where he saw a small cat-like creature holding a staff.

"Well hello there," the cat said. "Are you seeking the Sacred Water to become stronger?"

"Yes," Goku said blankly. "Bad stuff has been happening an-"

"I know," the cat replied. "I can read minds. I am Master Korin in case you hadn't figured that out yet."

"So," Goku retorted, a little surprised that he could read minds. "Where's the Sacred Water so I can get outta here?"

"It's right here," Korin said holding up a pitcher of water on the end of his staff. "All you have to do is take it from me, and I won't make it easy for ya."

The Saiyan smirked, charging at the cat and reaching for the sacred water, figuring it to be very easy. However, Korin had moved out of the way so quickly that the Saiyan boy couldn't get the bottle and tumbled on the floor behind him.

"Try again," Korin stated, smiling trying to rile the Saiyan up. And it worked, as Goku turned on his focused expression, now knowing it wouldn't be a cake walk.

"You know it," The Saiyan replied, charging up his Ki and darting once more, only to be evaded again. "I'll keep trying till I get it, no matter how long it takes!"

 **-Two Days Later-**

"You have to anticipate my movements," Korin said. "You can't just react to what I do."

Goku closed his eyes, clearing his mind and focusing on the task at hand. He then launched himself at Korin once again, feeling assured that he could finally get the water. The cat moved to dodge, but the person darting for him was an Afterimage, confusing the cat. The real Goku appeared behind him and shoved the Cat's in the back, sending Korin sprawling forward.

The bottle then flew out of Korin's hands and into Goku's waiting hands. "Is that it?" The Saiyan said sarcastically as he opened the jug of water and started to gulp it down, feeling plenty of thirst and hunger alleviate.

"Very good," Korin said. "Your dear old Master took three years to get the sacred water. But two days is an incredible new record, but it's to be expected since you're way stronger than he was at the time he came all the way up here."

"I feel a good deal stronger," Goku stated. "But it wasn't all that it was hyped up to be when I heard it from Bora."

"Well it shouldn't be, you were just drinking plain ole tap water," Korin revealed.

"Tap water?" Goku said surprised, then a little pissed. "I did all this just for some tap water?!"

"Yes," Korin said. "There is nothing special in the water. You got stronger from the acts of having to climbing the tower and getting the water from me have made you stronger. Climbing the tower has increased your endurance, stamina, and strength whilst getting the water from me has increased your speed, acceleration and focus."

"Also," Korin added, "I have something for you that I have a feeling will make you much stronger in the long run. Especially with all the training and battles you plan on having, let's just say it's a ticket to gaining strength after physical trauma."

"What is it?!" Goku asked, sounding cheerful once again.

"They are called Senzu beans," Korin said tossing a bean to the young Saiyan. "If you eat them your energy will be restored instantly and you will be healed of all injuries instantly. Also, they make you feel full for up to three days, meaning you don't have to consume food."

"That sounds very useful," Goku said. ' _With those I could train even harder without worrying about recovery, awesome.'_

"They do take a good amount of time to grow though," Korin said. "So use them sparingly. I can give you ten of them right now but it may take me sometime to grow more, ranges from a month to six months."

"Thanks a bunch," Goku responded, eating the bean that Korin had given him and taking the other nine in a little brown pouch. "Whoa!" The Saiyan exclaimed after eating the bean, "I really do feel plenty stronger than before now!"

He turned around and placed his hand to his head, saluting his serpentine master. "Thanks Korin, I'll see ya when I return for more!" Goku called out midst the wind, his hair blowing wildly as he catapulted down from the living area with a somersault.

Free falling from the sky for a minute, he slowed himself down using his Ki before he impacted the ground, making him land with a solid 'thud'. He looked around and found Upa doing the exercises he had written on his list of things to do.

Smiling proudly, the Saiyan walked over, ready to depart.

"Hey Upa," The Saiyan said, getting the little boy's attention. "I hafta leave now, but remember my promise. I'll get the Dragonballs and see if I can wish back your whole tribe. If the Dragon says he can't, then I'm sorry and we'll have to move on, okay?"

Upa looked up at him, and faintly smiled as well, "It's okay, I'll live. No one's gonna attack me again, and I need to protect these lands in memory of my father."

"You're right, but never stop training, cause ya never know," Goku stated, and then he ruffled the boy's hair. "I'll be gone for quite a while, but I'll see ya again, so stay out of trouble for me. I'll give those Red Ribbon bastards what's coming to em'. Until then, sayonara," he finished off, placing on his large backpack, and getting into a traditional sprinting stance. And just like that, he left in a blur, leaving behind a slight **Afterimage** with his new speed alone.


	8. The Return of The Saiyan

_Chapter 8: The Return of The Saiyan_

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 **-Two Weeks Later; Still With Goku At Four O'clock In The Morning-**

The twelve year-old was walking through a forest towards the town known as Konoha. He looked up into the sky, and thought over the events that took place since his time away from the village. It had been over five years since Goku last had a glimpse of the village known as Konohagakure no Sato. And it was refreshing, finally being back home. He couldn't wait to catch up with everyone and find out what they've been up to with his absence. The Saiyan continued among the snow-clad path. He wore a navy blue sleeveless jacket with orange sleeves underneath, orange cargo pants and his usual navy boots with orange lining.

He proceeded to walk up to the gate. The two guards looked at the boy, and asked what his business in the village was, having already forgotten about him. Goku handed the guards the sheet he held in his hand that contained a pass written by the Sandaime himself. The guards looked it over, and allowed the boy into the village. His next destination was the tower of the Hokage.

Sarutobi was sifting through another pile of paper work, grumbling to himself. ' _Uh, why does the strongest ninja in the village have to go through this ritual day in and day out. It's not fitting. I should be out among the villagers, giving out pearls of wisdom, training some, even training myself. The only thing I've exercised rigorously lately are my hands,_ ' the Hokage thought to himself. He heard a knock at the door. He was glad to have an excuse to take a break from the paper pile, and allowed the party knocking to enter. He was surprised to see the boy whom he had sent to Roshi show up on his own, without any guide or escort.

"Could it be... Son Goku?" Spoke a shocked Hokage.

"So, you remember who I am, Hokage-sama?" Spoke the Saiyan, as he handed the Hokage another paper he had in his pockets.

"Hmm... a report from Roshi... well, well, it seems you have been through plenty. Training in various disciplines from the ground up, travelling the world upon departure on your own, learnt how to use Ki, and more... what can you do with this Ki?" Inquired Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hehe. Roshi-Sensei told me it was better I demonstrate it through tests instead of telling you. I can guarantee that you won't be let down from what you'll see," replied Goku. "Let's just say it's quite the handy tool, like a rare Kekkei Genkai."

"Very well. I told Roshi to make sure you didn't return here until you were ready to become genin a few months before the exams take place. Do you think you can pass the Genin Exams without having to go through the academy?" Asked the Hokage.

"I may not be the smartest thing around here," stated Goku with clarity, "But I'm sure I can handle whatever you can think to throw at me!"

"We'll see soon enough," the Sandaime said as he reached into his desk, and pulled out the keys to an apartment. He tossed the key to the boy. "These are the keys to your new apartment. You'll be in the same building as Naruto; but your room is the one two stories above it. If you are able or want to live anywhere else, you are welcome to return the keys to me."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Replied the Saiyan.

"Okay, now then, you have arrived just in time to take the Genin Exams in a few months. I will inform the instructors to let you take the exams regardless of not being there in the Academy for over five years. You best not fail; you wouldn't want to make me look like a fool, now, would you?" Stated the Hokage with a chuckle.

"Hell no, Hokage-sama. I'll pass this thing with ease!" Replied an enthusiastic Goku.

"Good, that's exactly what I want to hear. Now, without further ado, you are dismissed," spoke Hiruzen, whom received a salute from the future genin.

The boy promptly left the Hokage's tower, and headed to his new apartment building to unload all of his stuff.

 **-With Hinata, Later On That Same Morning-**

Hinata woke up just before dawn. She quickly dressed in her current normal attire: her black shinobi Capri, black t-shirt, and her cream colored jacket. She made her way towards the kitchens to make bento boxes for Naruto, herself and Sasuke. She was very thankful her father allowed her and her sister to not attend breakfast or lunch with him or with members of the Main Family. As she walked in, there were the Branch Family cooks cooking breakfast. They bowed their heads to Hinata, who smiled in return.

The cooks were used to Hinata's presence in the kitchen. It wasn't unusual for her to be in there making her own breakfast or lunch. Once the meals were in their respective bento boxes, she waved to the cooks and quickly left the kitchens with a bright smile. She reached the front door and placed on her ninja sandals. She thanked Kami-sama that she didn't run into her father. If she had to explain why she had two bentos and why she was leaving this early, she wasn't too sure what she would tell him.

Over the past five plus years since Goku's abrupt abandoning of them, Hinata's changed somewhat as a character. She became more ruthless and confident, but that only went towards his physicality. She had a firm voice, she didn't stutter anymore and she was no longer shy at all. However, the voice was still soft, the only thing that changed was the tone laced within that voice. And she fought to her fullest, never holding back in fear of hurting someone. However, that remained it, she still remained the same. One more difference is that her hair was somewhat longer, reaching the top of her shoulders. And it wasn't all perfect and dandy, no it appeared to have a few spikes within it making it rather unkempt for a clan status of her caliber. She rather preferred it, she didn't want to appear as a heiress who was super formal all the damn time anyways.

Back when she was naive and still very young, she felt like relying on Goku to protect her at all times when he made that ludicrous promise. She also believed that Goku would help her train, and simply be there for her when she needed him. For a little while she believed that, but when he abruptly left announced, it made her rethink those claims and promises. When she was bullied for her eyes and status, the boy wasn't there to help her. When she was close to being kidnapped, Goku wasn't there to save her. When see was getting punished and disgraced by her father, the Saiyan wasn't there to save her. He lied about all three of his promises, and that infuriated her to no end. And then he's went on to abandon them all without any kind of explanation, just that he left and still hasn't returned for over five years! From then on, she started training with Naruto and Sasuke to gain strength so she could fend for herself, even taking up lessons from Kakashi periodically. Getting stronger and training was the only thing that could assuage her latent anger, anger that clouded her mind that was caused by her father, family and Goku.

Currently, she walked through the streets of Konoha, noticing that many shops and restaurants were just opening up. She headed through the forest to the training ground she was supposed to meet her training partners at. As she stepped out of the forest and into the clearing of the training ground, she noticed they weren't there. She blinked. She looked up towards the sky and realized it was just after sunrise. Realizing that she was too early, she decided to start her own training. She placed the lunches by one of the three training logs and took her normal fighting stance. She then took several deep breaths before striking the padded log with her palms.

The more she thought about Goku, the more she resented what he did and the harder her strikes became. In ten seconds, she started punching holes through the two foot thick padded log with ease, ripping through the bark like its paper. Soon, there appeared to be nothing left of the training dummy, and she tossed aside, catching her breath.

Calming herself down, she re-positioned herself to inflict massive damage on the tree in front of her. Right when she was about to strike it...

"BOO!" Came a voice from behind her, and this startled the girl, making her turn around quickly and strike the preteen behind her. Said boy clutched his shoulder, groaning at the female that was in front of him.

"OW! You've gotten a lot stronger since last time huh," the boy stated, complimenting her improvement nonchalantly, "That really really hurt."

"Oh, I apologize," The Hyuga heiress apologized, before remembering what he just said. "You said you've met me before... do I know you?"

"What?! You don't remember good ole me?" With the girls nod and confusion written all over her face, he sighed. "Alright fine, but ya might be surprised from what you see."

The heiress gave a slight nod for him to proceed, she kind of recognized the voice, but she couldn't quite place who it belonged to. And from his stature, it seemed he was around her age, and he had a familiar vibe to him. Something that she hadn't felt from a very long time ago. It felt different, yet eerily similar to a certain boy with sporadic black hair. Could it be...?

The boy lifted the hood that covered his eyes and everything above save for locks of his hair, and it revealed to be...

Son Goku. That person. That guy, the one who had left them all behind, disappearing unannounced. "It's me, Son Goku, and I've returned!"

"Goku... why... why the hell did you leave?!" Hinata demanded, her fists clenching with chakra resonating throughout her body. "You abandoned us all, especially me... and all I have wanted to know was why you left in the first place. You just waltzed out of here like it was nothing, breaking all three of the promises you made to me for over five years, so please, answer me!"

' _So, she's mad at me, huh? Just great_ ,' Goku said to himself as he got into a defensive stance. "Sorry, Hinata-san, but I'm not supposed to tell ya. If ya really wanna know, then defeat me in a spar. If you lose, then you'll give me the three bento's, cause I'm starving!"

Hinata's eyebrow twitched. "No, I want to hear the truth regardless."

Goku grinned. "Fine, I'll tell ya. If you can beat me that is. Besides, has anyone ever told you how cute you were when you're mad?"

Hinata t'ched, her cheeks turning a bit pink. "Fine, if that's how you want it. But you're gonna tell me once I win!"

Goku chuckled. "You talk like you really beat me already, which you haven't. Try it."

The Hyuga took a small breath in, knowing that it wouldn't do her any good to get riled up in a fight even if it was just a spar. But she was already riled up to the point she went through with it anyways.

Goku didn't move as he waited for the girl to make the first move. The boy also wanted to know how much she had improved since the last time. So far, he knew she could hurt him nonchalantly, but could she do it in a spar? He was certain he could push her to find out anyways.

The Saiyan didn't have to wait long as the girl rushed at him. He had to internally whistle at the speed she displayed. It was certainly much faster than last time and pretty good speed if he could say so himself, though at most she was only at 40% of his full speed.

The Saiyan ducked to the side as a swift jab came flying by him. He quickly grabbed her stretched arm as he twisted her around in the air in an instant. He had to give her credit, as she was much quicker than she was fast, rivaling his own reaction speed.

Hinata didn't know what had just happened as she stared at the blue sky above her. It wasn't long before Goku's grinning face came into her line of sight, however.

"Is that all you've got, Hinata-san? I hope not. Otherwise, you might as well forfeit now cause you'll never get the answers."

She really wanted to pulverize him now more than ever. The heiress frowned as she stood back up. Goku took a few steps back as he observed the Hyuga girl before him, wondering for a moment if she was going to try anything else.

And she did.

Goku grinned as he began to duck and evade all the kicks and punches she threw at him with considerable effort. This made the girl upset on the inside, her efforts not getting her a hit. However, she had yet to unveil her Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan.

In the midst of her frustrations, she gave herself quite a few openings, one of which Goku used as he grabbed her wrist with a strong grip and halted any further attacks.

"At this rate, you're not gonna win this," Goku said in a normal tone. He was really pushing her to reveal her Byakugan.

Hinata growled for a second time. She didn't like any of this teasing. Lest of all by some boy whom abandoned her and broke his promises. She wasn't his friend anymore. They were simply fellow to-be-shinobi. And she wanted to beat that brashness out of him so badly.

Losing herself to her frustration, Hinata finally activated her Byakugan. Goku raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw this, giving Hinata and easy opening which she capitalized on. The boy staggered back three feet in pain, a throbbing annoyance in his right arm. Goku jumped back as she tried to knee him in the gut with a follow up. But seeing the fight through her Byakugan now, the Hyuga girl was soon on top of him again, this time her combos being much more precise than before.

' _I guess the Byakugan really does bring out the best of her_ ,' Goku thought to himself as he continued to dodge Hinata's attacks with a much greater difficulty. The Saiyan then tried to block a two-finger strike, but that ended up putting immense pain on his left hand.

"Ouch!" Goku complained, dodging precise strikes whilst talking, "That hurt like hell! You're really good, but I'm still gonna win this thing."

This only infuriated the girl even further as she jumped back to put some distance between herself and the boy. She was already panting too. She had been putting a lot of effort into trying to land a hit on the Saiyan, and she succeeded, but not in the way she had hoped.

"How... just how strong have you gotten!?" She exclaimed, wanting to know how he attained his strength as of now.

Goku hummed, actually contemplating the question before he shrugged. "I dunno, I'm just me."

Hinata looked at Goku with a blank face. What the hell kind of answer was that?

Goku then titled his head. "But I guess I'll be eating your bento's, Hinata-san."

"Then why don't we step it up shall we?" Hinata claimed, smiling as her fingers became endowed with blue chakra. Goku actually tensed himself up and went into a stance, prepared to retaliate.

"Fine, come at me with everything you've got!" With that, Hinata charged at Goku with full-strength, surprising the Saiyan and forcing him back. Using his ki to enhance his durability, he blocked all of the strikes with his forearms. He then gave a palm-strike to the girl whom he sparred with, sending her back some. As he lunged forward, Hinata used her flexibility to outmaneuver his elbow and strike his midsection.

That made the Saiyan lurch back, and she hit him again. However, her hand went right through Goku, and she was shocked to find out where he went.

"My, my, Hinata-san. I didn't think that you'd wanna injure me like that. That was rather ruthless!"

Hinata's eyes widened when she heard the Saiyan's voice behind her. "How did you get behind me that easily?"

To Goku, it had been simple. He had simply moved so fast he created an after-image before she could take notice. Hinata still wasn't efficient enough with her Dojutsu to have noticed what he had done just now. It spoke volumes about his full speed.

"I created an after-image with my speed, as you can now tell," Goku explained, wincing at the pain on his hand and torso. "That would've really really hurt if I didn't move."

Hinata sighed as she deactivated her Byakugan. She could almost sense Goku's grin from behind her, and though she could've kept on going, she didn't want to reveal everything that she learned over the past five plus years. "Fine… it's my loss. The bento boxes are yours to have."

There was no point in going forward with this. As much as she hated to admit it, Goku was simply outright stronger and faster than her. That didn't mean she couldn't win in a real fight, because intelligence played an even bigger factor than physical attributes. Yet in a simple spar, she simply couldn't beat him like she could normally do someone else because it was straight up Taijutsu.

Goku smiled as the girl whom had turned around to face him. "It was a great spar, Hinata-san!"

Hinata t'ched as she looked down. "You're not gonna give me the truth are you? And Goku, don't call me Hinata-san, it sounds too formal."

Goku chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "Sure, no problem. And do you really wanna know?"

The Hyuga sighed. "Whatever. I lost. Do as you please."

Goku hummed, calming down. "Don't be like that, I'll tell you the truth anyways. And you should cheer up, seeing you all broody and sad is killing the vibe. You'll look even prettier in my opinion if you do."

If anything, Hinata's blush came full force. "W-what do you mean?"

Humming again, Goku nodded to himself. "That's right. Smile. Laugh. Be happy. And I'm sure that you will be much prettier."

Hinata didn't know how to respond to that. She could only stare at the Saiyan with wide eyes, her blush still going strong. This was the first time anyone had ever told her something like this to her face, no other boy had saw her the way that Goku did. It made him something special in a way, something unique.

"Anyways, I left because I was ordered to. Ya see, for some reason I don't know, I was causing a lot of ruckus in the village for and Hokage-sama told me I would be living with Roshi-sensei for five or more years. I guess since people were trying to murder me out of hatred because I was seen as a problem, then I had to leave. I didn't have time to explain why, and I'm really sorry," Goku stated seriously, his fists clenching.

"Then... I apologize for the way I acted towards you, Goku. I didn't know, it's just people told me that you abandoned the village and the like. My own father detested you so much and told me that you were a horrible being...but you're not horrible. Just know that I don't hate you," Hinata explained, patting the Saiyan on the shoulder. She noticed how much tougher his skin had become and how chiseled he felt for his age, it was unreal, definitely more than anyone else their age in the village.

"Thanks Hinata, for being one of my first and closest friends," the Saiyan thanked, handing back the bento boxes. "And you can keep em, you need to eat more than I do." The preteen said, showcasing his generosity towards the girl.

"No, I insist. Take them Goku," Hinata replied, tossing the boxes back to the Saiyan, which was caught.

"If you're sure," The Saiyan said before digging in and finishing them all in little over two minutes. "It was great! Even though it felt like an everyday snack, I want more!"

Hinata was fascinated and flabbergasted at the same time by how much the Saiyan could consume in so little time. And how come he didn't turn obese from the sheer amount of food that he eats on a regular basis.

"How do you eat so much and still be so... conditioned and healthy?" Hinata inquired, a bit curious st the trivial subject. He could out eat Naruto in ramen for crying out loud, which was simply unreal.

"Uhhh, I train extremely hard everyday and I guess I have a fast metabolism?" The Saiyan answered, having never thought about his consuming in this fashion before. He was often very hungry for food and ate to satisfy himself, even if they were large portions of food.

"Anyways," the Saiyan continued as he brought his hands behind his head to relax, "I'll see you around the academy. And if you want to spar again, just tell me. Oh and before I go, do you happen to know where Naruto is?"

"He's supposed to be coming here really soon, in fact I see him nearby racing with Sasuke," the heiress explained to the twelve year old, making him nod then smirk. Maybe he should give them all a shocker as a surprise to showcase his new abilities to the world. He decided to gather his Ki from the inside and let it manifest, creating a small wind to surround his athletic frame.

When both Naruto and Sasuke appeared, Goku grunted and an small eruption of blue ki could be seen as a glow on his body. Then his energy gave an unstable outburst before it calmed itself, settling into a bodily sized aura that surprised all of the onlookers. It surrounded Goku like some sort of tamed, crackling fire, and the wind speed increased in the area by a few miles, but nothing too major.

"W-what the hell is that?!" Naruto, Sasuke and surprisingly Hinata called out, wanting answers.

"Heheheh, it's my Ki, which is energy made up of willpower, or basically my life-force," The Saiyan answered in part, lowering his aura to a minimal amount. "It's somethin' I've learnt to control overtime from the intense training I've gone through for all of these years."

"Whoa, that sounds awesome!" Naruto stated, happy to see his longtime friend return to Konohagakure after over five years. Him and Sasuke then took in his changed appearance. He was much taller, standing on par with them. He was wearing a navy blue hooded sleeveless shirt, with orange sleeves underneath. His hair hadn't changed at all, only it became more defined.

Goku actually laughed. "It really is," he answered. He smiled over his shoulder at them. "I can tell you've both gotten a whole lot stronger since I saw y'all. And so have I," He smirked again. "And I'd like to think I'm not the same boy I used to be."

"You sure don't seem like it," Hinata commented, noting his more mature attitude. Though he was still seemed like a naive person, the way he carried himself seemed to have altered considerably, as if something horrible happened to him during the time he was gone. She could say the same thing about herself, all the punishments she had endured from her father and her compacted anger made her this way.

"Is there a way to learn Ki?" Sasuke inquired, actually intrigued by it. If it was as good as Goku claimed it was, then he, an Uchiha, should be able to pick it up. Besides, he would use anything he could to get the advantage against his brother, and this Ki seemed like a good option at the moment.

Goku pondered the question until he remembered what his master had told him about Ki and everything else. "No, cause' your bodies are already adapted to Chakra, and having both energies would likely tear you to shreds, ending your life."

"So then why do you have it?" Naruto questioned, ingrained as well.

"I dunno, I was just born with it I guess," He replied, not entirely sure. "My sempai and Ojiisan also had Ki, along with the Crane Hermit. Very few people have ever had Ki, like less than zero-point-zero-zero-one percent of the people in the world. And then a lot of them were massacred, leaving even fewer. Just know they had incredible powers, and I wanna follow suit."

"What're those incredible powers? Can you give us a demonstration?" The heiress questioned, making the preteen sigh. Another question to add to his miniature interview by three people.

"Alright, so we can do this," Goku paused, charging a small orb of energy and shooting it towards a medium-sized boulder, blowing it to smithereens. "We also have enhanced power, strength, durability, vision, senses, speed, and stamina from it. It's similar to a Kekkei Genkai, but even more so, it's better. However, that's about it," he finished, surprising all of them, even Sasuke.

"You can even shoot blasts?! That's insane!" Naruto exclaimed, now a bit jealous of his friends capabilities. "Yet it seems basic and simple, Chakra is more versatile from what you're sayin."

"You're right," Goku confirmed, a little unnerved from the gazes that both Sasuke and Hinata had bestowed upon him, with their Dojutsu's active. He knew they were looking at his energy, but he honestly didn't care. What he noticed though was that Sasuke had a dark aura around him that he never had before. It was clouded with anger and hate, something he didn't get at all. He needed to know what had made him the way he was.

"Yo Sasuke, is your brother still around nowadays? I wanna greet hi-" He was cut off by a kunai he caught out of thin air at the last second. He turned to see the Uchiha looking at him with his ruby Sharingan eyes gazing towards him. The Saiyan turned towards the Uchiha with a 'what the hell' look on his face.

"Don't you speak of him. He massacred the Uchiha clan, and I'll annihilate him if it's the last thing I do," Sasuke said with a dark, calm voice, "I'm going to train."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss, but did ya have to attack me like that?" Goku asked, putting his hands up. After receiving no response, the Saiyan shook his head and decided to leave him be. It would appear the mention of his older brother made him furious.

"Just leave him be, Goku," Naruto said, defusing the situation at hand, "He'll calm down soon, it's just a sore subject for him."

"Oh, I know," the Saiyan replied, "I've experienced the death of an important person before."

"So have I," the Hyuga commented with a soft voice. "Its...its just apart of life, I guess. I remember when my mother died when I was five or so, and it broke me. I had no one who really cared for me anymore, because they deemed Hanabi the more capable daughter."

"I'm sorry, I can't relate to that, because I've never had any true family," Naruto added, before killing the somber mood with a smirk. "But enough of the sob stories, who wants some Ichiraku Ramen? It's on me this time."

Goku gave the redhead some props with a thumbs up for changing the subject, the sob stories truly made the vibe turn sympathetic. He wanted to pay for it himself, but he didn't have the money to do it. And he doubted Naruto had enough ryo to pay for all three of them.

"No, let me pay for it," Hinata interjected, thinking about the Saiyan's eating habits, "I can cover both of you easily with my clan inheritance."

"Ya sure?" Goku and Naruto asked at the same time, making her nod in response.

"Alright, let's go."

Goku was very hungry. He really needed to check out Ichiraku Ramen and taste it again. He had been so preoccupied with other things that he had completely forgotten about his favorite ramen stand. Naruto was having similar thoughts, minus the part where he hadn't eaten it in awhile.

Hinata on the other-hand, couldn't help but stare at the ebony spiky-haired preteen right next to her.

' _Son Goku...what an enigma..._ '

 **-In The Hokage's Office Early That Next Morning-**

A meeting was being held in the Hokage's building during the night, or early morning per-say of the Leaf Village. None of the Village elders and clan heads appeared to appreciate being summoned at three o'clock in the freaking morning, but they all sucked it up and answered their call.

In a special meeting room, a long table sat in the center that fit all of the clan heads and the elders. The Hokage sat at the head of the table, of course.

Hiruzen cleared his throat before speaking, loud enough for everyone to hear, "So, as you all must have heard, Goku has made his return yesterday to village, and I'm here to talk about his new abilities."

A handful of the council members didn't approve of this. A woman, Mebuki Haruno, spoke out, "Wait! You mean to tell me that you allowed Goku, the boy caused chaos throughout the village, to retake refuge in the village? Have you not learnt of the threat he possesses? How do you know he's not a member of an enemy village at this moment from all these years of being gone?"

"Actually," Inoichi spoke up, gaining the council's attention, "That brings up a whole other topic altogether. After scanning the boy's space-pod thoroughly with Capsule Corp, we found out that it's technology reigned far _beyond_ our own worlds. The pod is fast enough to eclipse light-speed, which we previously thought was impossible. And it also has it's own life-support system and planet coordination system, like it was sent here to Earth. There's no way in hell he's from this land, or even from _our_ world for that matter."

A man with black hair tied in a ponytail, two scars on the right side of his face, decided to jump in, "What are you saying, that he's an extraterrestrial?" The thought sounded ridiculous to the man, Shikaku.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. And it's very advanced, his race must possess technology that's decades, maybe even _centuries_ ahead of our own, even Capsule Corp, whom has just created Dynocaps, or Capsules rather using fuuinjutsu and technology."

Hiruzen nodded, confirming Inoichi's statement, "I myself have gotten to see a sample of the boys technology."

For a moment everyone was silent, pondering on what they just heard. An old woman with her hair tied in a bun spoke up, "What are we going to do with the boy now?" Koharu asked.

The Hokage grinned, knowing he was going to stir up controversy among the council, "The boy has told me that he is an adept Ki user. For this reason, he will join our ranks as a Genin after the Graduation Exams."

"Impossible!" A man with white eyes and long black hair called out, "Ki hasn't been used in centuries, it's impossible for one to utilize it in this day and age." This caused the room to break out in chatter, making the Hokage raise his hand to silence it.

"Yes Hiashi, that is true. A shinobi in this day and age wouldn't be able to use Ki, but that only furthers the point that the boy is not from around here."

Danzo voiced his thoughts, "You say that the boy is joining our shinobi forces. How would his Ki abilities benefit us? Our shinobi can't use it, and from my understanding, Ki was abandoned for the concept of Chakra many centuries ago, with it being more flexible, versatile and easier to manipulate although less potent and destructive as Ki was at the time."

Hiruzen again nodded, "Although our shinobi wouldn't be able to use Ki and vice-versa, the boy has shown that his Ki can provide him with rather unique abilities, such as the ability to fly, though he hasn't gotten it down yet." This released a series of gasps from a few people, and Danzo's eye widened. Hiruzen noticed Danzo's eye widen. The Fire Shadow knew that would lead to difficulties later. "I think I'll tell Iruka to schedule a spar between him and the students, just so we can get a gauge for just where Goku now stands among his peers." After a series of nods, Hiruzen called a dismissal, letting the council members return back to their homes for more sleep.

 **-Later On The Same Day With Hinata-**

"I have requested that you be placed on a team with the Uchiha and the Aburame. Their skills will supplement yours best." Hiashi's icy gaze met the impassive features of his eldest daughter. He waited for her acknowledgement, but it didn't come. "Our family has great influence over the village, including the academy." Still nothing. "You should be grateful for my benevolence on your behalf."

"I want to stay with my friends," she stated aloud, so firmly that Hiashi thought he must have imagined it. He must have; Hinata would never dare question him.

"What did you say?" He asked in a falsely calm tone, his rising fury betraying the façade.

"I said I want to stay with my friends, Tou-san." Her voice was even solid now, confident. "Including Goku and Naruto."

It was not often her father displayed any emotion, even if he did seem to come across as perpetually harsh. But his daughter, the heiress to the Hyuga clan, had just openly denied him. The only time she had felt killing intent stronger had been when Kumo attempted to kidnap her a few years back.

"Hyuga Hinata," he stated slowly as he stood, stepping purposefully towards his kneeling daughter. "For years I have invested in your training." Another step seemed to shake the floor. "For years I have tried to rid you of your pathetic weaknesses." The entire room felt heavy now, and Hinata's breathing quickened. "For years I have held out for the day you would be worthy of your birthright. And for what?" In a single motion she was against the wall, pinned by a hand gripped about her throat. She gasped and grabbed at his hand, feet desperately kicking against the wall, trying to find a foothold. "You refuse my kindness. You rebuke my advice. You allow your younger sister to surpass you. You are worthless." As if those words were the last he intended to speak to her, Hiashi tossed his coughing daughter to the ground, disgusted. "Get out."

"Goku and Naruto..." she choked, struggling to her feet. Her father turned back to her, eyes widening in wonder. Not only had she defied him, but she sought to speak out of her place also. ' _What a waste of blood._ '

"What about that mongrel and demon?" He spat, eyes burning.

"They aren't anything like you said, tou-san!" Even if she was deemed failure, she wouldn't allow her two friends to be looked down on like that. Hiashi merely stood, stiff, staring down at his daughter.

"I see the duo has gotten to you too," he said coldly, sneering. "That mongrel known as Goku should've been executed on the spot for what he did seven years ago. And the demon child should have been killed twelve years ago when..." Hiashi ground his teeth, growling at nothing before sweeping out of the audience chamber, but not before one last contemptuous note. "Until you prove yourself worthy of the Hyuga name, do not return to this compound. Trash does not belong in my family."

"Fine, consider me gone then! You don't need me, and I don't you need you either," the Hyuga stated aloud, standing up and trotting away from her father.

She felt empty at the moment, like all of her being had just been taken from her. All hope of ever proving to not be a failure by her tou-sans standards lay shattered on the Hyuga Compound. Her father had finally disowned her completely. And even though Hanabi had been named the new heiress as a result of Hinata's failures, she never had imagined that Hiashi would simply cast her out. And yet, she didn't even feel any sort of sadness from what had just occurred. She's always been cast down as a failure, trash or a disgrace, and now she felt alleviated from all of it. She could finally be herself which was Hinata, not the Hyuga heiress, and she could prove everyone that she wasn't a failure, that she could be a splendid shinobi independent of her clan.

Her mind was blank even as she walked from the Hyuga estate, a chilled wind biting at her pale face. It was a bitter, cold, snowy night. Hinata wandered the streets of the massive village aimlessly until she came across a decent apartment building. Once she bought herself a room on the top floor using her clan inheritance, she plopped down on the bed in her room. Only then did reality set in; only then did she realize how alone she was. Just like Naruto, Sasuke, and Goku, she had to fend for herself now, and she found that it was positive contrast compared to the Hyuga compound.


	9. The Graduation Exams

_Chapter 9: The Graduation Exams_

* * *

 **-One Month Later-**

The Saiyan noticed a rather large building located at the base of the Hokage Mountain whilst ignoring glares, the Ninja Academy. When the Saiyan began making his way to the front entrance he was surprised to see a man dragging Naruto behind him while scolding him, for some reason the redhead was tied up with a rope. The man had brown hair tied in a ponytail with a long scar running across his nose.

"Seriously Naruto, for someone who's failed the graduation exam twice, I would think that you would try to get to class on time!" Iruka scolded Naruto. "I guess it's a habit you picked up from Kakashi isn't it?"

"Yeah well it's not like-" Naruto was cut off when he noticed Goku standing off to the side, causing Iruka to notice the Saiyan as well. The boy being noticed wondered where Yugao was, because he hadn't seen her since he arrived. Maybe she went back to being an Anbu? Who knows.

"Oh," Iruka said awkwardly, dropping Naruto, "You must be the new arrival Hokage-sama told me about." Iruka took out a clipboard and looked for Goku's name. "Ah, Son Goku was it?"

Goku nodded firmly, "Hai. I'm not really a new arrival, I've been here before, just not in five years."

Iruka smiled, "Well Goku, my name is-"

"See, I'm not the only one who's late!" Naruto cut in as he broke through the ropes and enthusiastically approached Goku, putting out his hand then closing it for the Saiyan to bump, which he did. "Ain't that right Goku?"

"Yep," Goku said, smirking with his hands clasped together, "However it's my first day in a long time, so I should be excused!"

Iruka smiled, "And my name's Iruka Umino, the instructor here at the Academy." He turned and grabbed the handle to the Academy entrance, and shot an irritated glance towards Naruto, "But you're both pretty late. Naruto, you go inside and take a seat while I reintroduce Goku here to the class."

Naruto negligently waved Iruka off, "Yeah, yeah, whatever Iruka-sensei." The redhead entered the building with his hands in his pockets.

Iruka glanced at the redhead as he walked through the door before turning back to the Saiyan. "So Goku, how do feel? You nervous?"

The Saiyan stretched his arms, an obvious sign that he was aloof. "To be honest, not really. I'm ready, plain and simple, to become a Genin."

"You sure? You may not have the skill-set required," Iruka asked, raising a questionable eyebrow.

"Pretty much," Goku confirmed with a smile. "Throw whatever you want at me, I'll simply take it head on!"

Iruka let out a small chuckle, "You'll be just fine here Goku. Though I will admit, you're coming pretty late in the year, so don't get too comfortable with the students. Some of them may be graduating soon." The Saiyan nodded in understanding.

The Saiyan followed behind Iruka as he opened the door, stepping through to reveal a large classroom full of adolescents whom were chatting amongst themselves. Iruka silenced them with a clearing of the throat. Iruka stood at the center of the room with the twelve year-old in tow.

"Hello class. Today we have an old student whom wasn't here since over five years ago, so try to make him feel welcome." Iruka stepped to the side, revealing to the class a slightly nervous looking but otherwise confident adolescent with very spiky and sporadic hair. "Say hello to Son Goku," That earned a few of snickers from a couple of students, but it didn't faze Goku at all.

"Hi, it's me again," Goku plainly said, earning a few looks of hate and scorn.

"Now Goku, would you happen to be familiar with the concept of Chakra?" Iruka asked.

The Saiyan nodded, "Yeah, many have told me that's what y'all use for energy. I use a different energy source, Ki."

The class gasped and Iruka looked like he touched an electric wire.

"K-Ki? You can't just use your Ki! That's you're life energy, you'll die!" Iruka almost yelled.

The Saiyan shook his head, "Sorry, but it's not _that_ simple." Goku held up his hand to where the class and Iruka could clearly see what he was about to do. He decided to just rehash what he showed Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke yesterday by allowing a golden ball to form in his hand, much to the sheer astonishment of everyone in the room bar the ones who've already seen it.

' _Wh-What the hell…_?' Iruka thought in shocked fascination.

Goku smirked before continuing, keeping the Ki ball steady as if it was effortless, which it almost was. "You see, Ki is easily trainable, like the bodies muscles. The more you use it, the stronger it gets and the more you can use later on." Goku finished as he let the ball dissipate with the clenching of his fist.

Iruka scratched his chin, "Interesting. So it is like Chakra in that regard at least, but it appears vastly different."

"Hey Iruka-sensei." Iruka turned and was surprised to see it was Shikamaru who called out, the class had similar thoughts.

"Yes Shikamaru?"

"Would it be possible for any of us to use Ki?" The Nara asked lazily, though the whole concept itself caught his attention.

Iruka shook his head, "Actually no, Shikamaru. You see class, Chakra has been in the bodies system for centuries now, it's something that's become a part of human anatomy. There wouldn't be a way for your body to adjust to Ki as it would for him to use Chakra."

The boy with a lazy look in his eyes with black hair in a pineapple style spoke up once more, "That still doesn't explain why _he_ can."

Iruka and the class looked to Goku for an answer. The preteen gave a shrug, "I don't have a clue, so don't ask me."

Iruka gave Goku a narrowed look, "Uh-huh." The man slowly said. "Well Goku, I do want to see just where you rank among your peers. So everyone, outside. We're gonna have a little sparring session." Iruka grinned.

As the Saiyan followed behind Iruka out the door with the class in tow, he could hear the students whispering about him behind him. He shrugged his shoulders, not one to truly concern himself with comments, but he listened in regardless.

" _Hey dude, my dad told me about that guy, he's a total freak."_

 _"Really? What about him?"_

 _"Remember that spiky haired brat that used to be here five plus years ago, rumor has it that he was banished from the village until he returned recently."_

 _"Damn, he must have been real terrible then."_

Other comments were along the lines of...

 _"There's no way that prissy, cocky boy could ever make it as a shinobi."_

 _"I know right! He thinks he's special because of that little light show and that Ki crap."_

 _"I bet he spends more time in front of a mirror and perming his hair than training, who else has hair similar to that? In the real world he'd get killed instantly."_

The Saiyan could at least hear a few of the girls were a bit more positive about him.

 _"Oh my kami, he's so cuuuute!"_

 _"I know! He's almost as good looking as Sasuke!"_

 _"I love his adorable eyes!"_

 _"He seems so brash and confident, and it's so coool!"_

The Saiyans face reddened a bit at hearing all the attention being bestowed upon him, but he otherwise stayed cool. He knew that word going around about him couldn't be good in the long run, and he knew that the more attention drawn to him would only make it worse.

Goku found himself standing next to Iruka with the rest of the students lined up in front of them.

The teacher studied each of the students for a second before choosing his three. "Jomei, Kiba, Sasuke, step forth." The three did as told. Goku noticed that Kiba was a boy sporting a grey hooded fur lined parka, with red fang tattoos on his cheek, and gave off an aura of arrogance with a cocky grin to boot. He also noticed the small white dog perched on Kiba's head. Iruka spoke to mainly to Goku, but loud enough to where the class could hear. "Alright Goku, I wanna get a gauge on just how strong you are compared to everyone else from weakest to strongest. So I'm gonna have you fight these three one-on-one. Are you fine with that?"

The Saiyan looked towards Sasuke and grinned, knowing that both of them were eager to test themselves against the other. Goku nodded, figuring it was best to just go along and show he was already above fresh Genin caliber.

"Good. Jomei, you're up first."

The two twelve year-olds were standing apart from each other in a large dirt circle made to simulate a fighting ring. Iruka and the rest of the class were spectating.

Goku looked at person across from him and saw his fighting stance had many openings to exploit. It was horrid, really, to him at least. He didn't even bother to get into a stance, just standing aloofly, making everyone wonder why.

Iruka held up an arm, "Ready… Begin!"

"What's wrong huh? To scared to get in a stance and fight me? Or do you not know a stance, prissy ass boy," Jomei commented, noticing the relaxation on the person across from him. He figured he'd make the person in front of him get riled up before attacking.

The Saiyan simply yawned in his face, stretching. "I know stances, it's just I don't think I need em'. It's a waste of time when there's no one to fight."

"Why you little-" Jomei let out a battle cry and charged at the Saiyan, winding his left fist back for a hay-maker. As he closed the distance, Goku's reflexes allowed him to sidestep and sweep his feet under Jomei's legs, the momentum sending him airborne, before the Saiyan followed up with a soft, in his opinion, kick into his ribs, knocking him out of the ring and tumbling head over heels onto the ground.

The boy was lying upside down half dazed with swirls in his eyes, then drooping and going unconscious. Most of the class groaned. Just because he easily defeated an average guy like him didn't mean he was anywhere close to being special.

Iruka lightly coughed, "Okay, um, Son Goku wins by a ring out."

Iruka the chuckled at the act, not being able to help it. He then went right over the other students heads. "Alright Kiba, you're up next."

Kiba placed his dog, Akamaru, on the ground before swaggering into the ring, meeting Goku. Kiba still held his cocky grin as he spoke, "You think you're big now just because you beat that average chump Jomei? Tsk, I think I'll show you your place," Kiba slid into a fighting stance.

"You sure do a lot of talking. Now try to back it up!" Goku casually said, actually going into a standard martial arts stance, not a Kame style.

"You damn right I will, you're bout to get pummeled," Kiba slid into his family's stance. "I'll go easy on you, and this'll only take a few seconds!"

Iruka shook his head and mentally sighed, ' _There goes that arrogant attitude of his._ ' Iruka referred to the Inuzuka. The Chunin sighed and then raised his arm, "Begin!"

Kiba charged at Goku at a speed much greater than Jomei's. Seeing how Kiba was top of the class when it came to boys in Taijutsu, only third to Naruto and Sasuke, the students were far more invested in this fight.

The Inuzuka jumped into the air in an attempt to land an axe kick at the top of Goku's head. The Saiyan lazily put his right hand up to grab Kiba's leg, stopping him dead in his tracks in mid air. The Saiyan then swung the Inuzuka by his leg, making him lose balance and the whiplash causing Kiba's head to spin before throwing him. As Kiba soared through the air he barely managed to get his bearings back together before twisting into a land, his fingers clawing into the ground to keep him from sliding into a ring out.

The Inuzuka got back to his feet, "Heh, guess you're not that bad. But I still have this match in the bag."

"Don't just say it, prove it," Goku said nonchalantly.

The Inuzuka proceeded to charge at the Saiyan again, throwing a right hook at the Saiyans temple who promptly swatted the fist aside, knocking Kiba's guard and torso wide open. The Saiyan threw a solid punch to the Inuzuka's gut, knocking every bit of wind from the teens gut and throwing clear outside of the ring. Kiba skidded along the dirt ground, out cold in a matter of a few second.

The students stared wide eyed at the outcome. An overweight boy whom was snacking on potato chips paused in awe, he turned to Shikamaru. "I can't believe he beat Kiba, he was one of the top three best in the class at Taijutsu!"

The slacker had a hand on top of his head, him too not believing it. "You've gotta be kidding me. That already puts him above everyone else, except Naruto and Sasuke at least. Just how strong is he?"

Iruka grabbed Kiba by his arm and dragged him back to the rest of the class. Akamaru whimpered and nudged his unconscious form. Iruka observed the newest member, noticing how he hadn't even broken a sweat yet. ' _Just how skilled is this kid?_ ' The Chunin looked to Sasuke who was already making his way to the ring, ready to put his skills to the test. Iruka tapped his chin in thought, ' _Could he really handle Sasuke though? Sure he handled Kiba like he was nothing, but Sasuke's the rookie of the year. And not to mention, he's the best Taijutsu-user in the class._ '

He hadn't known that the last time they fought, Goku won with an adrenaline rush. However, that was over five years ago, making it a nullified point of emphasis. Sakura was the one to voice Iruka's thoughts. "Iruka-sensei, do you think it's a good idea for Goku to fight Sasuke-Kun? I mean, sure he beat Kiba and Jomei, but Sasuke's the best. And even though Goku beat him before, Sasuke's been training extremely hard since then."

A girl with blonde hair tied in a ponytail with a bang hanging in front of her right eye, Ino Yamanaka, spoke up. "Yeah Iruka-sensei, there's no way in hell Goku could beat Sasuke-kun now."

The instructor smiled at them. "Who knows, we might be surprised." He saw the two boys were standing apart from each other, battle stance at the ready. Both boy's were smirking in anticipation, Goku going into his Kame style stance, knowing Sasuke would be his biggest competition here.

Sasuke watched the first two matches, and knew he had to give the Saiyan his props. "I must admit, that was pretty impressive the way you handled Kiba, but you're not beating me a second time. I've trained too hard for this, and you will lose."

' _Still the same old Sasuke, just bitter and cold,_ ' Goku smirked, "I guess we'll see about that, I trained too y'know."

He then turned to Iruka, wanting the area to be a good bit larger. "Iruka, can you take away the circle so we can _really_ cut loose?" With a nod, he grinned becoming focused on the spar at hand. The Chunin proceeded to what he had promised to do.

"Without further ado..." Iruka called. "Begin!"

Sasuke immediately pulled six shuriken from his pouch and flung them at Goku, the metal stars leaving an ethereal blur behind them as they flew to the Saiyan in missile guided accuracy.

The Saiyan weaved and sidestepped through the spaces in between the first five shuriken, the last one he simply caught and flung away. Sasuke made a serpentine run into Goku, at a speed that appeared to be a blur to the class. The Saiyan had to admit, he'd certainly gotten much faster, but Goku knew he was still even faster than Sasuke. The Uchiha made to throw a right hook to the Saiyan who put up his hand to block, only for the Uchiha to fake him out by phasing into the air for a roundhouse kick aimed for the Saiyan's head. The Saiyan blocked the attack with a decent amount of effort with his opposite forearm, stopping the kick dead in it's tracks.

Sasuke grunted a curse before swinging his opposite leg up to catch him in the chin. He caught him, and it sent Goku back a considerable amount of feet. Grinning, the Saiyan wiped the blood that came from his lip, "Not bad. Now catch me if you can!"

Goku charged up his Ki on the inside and blitzed the Uchiha, catching him off guard. The Saiyan ran towards him, nearly untraceable to the audience. The Uchiha struck, launching a kick, but his opposition vanished in a blitz of misdirection.

' _Where the hell did he go?'_ Sasuke asked before getting kicked in the back. He grunted, taking the force of the attack head on. The power moving him forward, making him flip backwards, the Saiyan on him real quick. As soon as the Uchiha landed, he used **Kawarimi** to replace himself with a boulder. In a display of strength plus momentum, he shattered it with ease into millions of fragments.

He then turned around and saw a fist closing in on his face, catching him off guard. Sasuke attempted to do it again, but his time Goku caught it and quickly kneed him in the torso, knocking some wind out of him. He then backed up, sending a kick towards Sasuke's jaw. However, the Uchiha saw this and caught it, grabbing his boot. The Saiyan tried to twist away, but his opponent charged Raiton chakra into his hands, paralyzing the Saiyan. It coursed throughout his body, but he was determined not to scream, instead gritting his teeth. He couldn't feel at thing, and that was a problem.

Realizing that to get away, he would need to flare up his Ki. Using his willpower, Goku's light blue aura appeared, counteracting the Raiton chakra and blowing it off of him. The Saiyan raised his hands and charged golden hued ki into them as a threat. Realizing his mistake, Sasuke quickly let go of the Saiyan's legs, making him drop on his back.

Rising up, the Saiyan kept his aura of Ki around him surprising many. He then rushed towards the Uchiha at full speed, said person hardly able to keep up. He launched one punch, which was dodged but then launched a full on assault, making the Uchiha block. On the offensive side, Goku knew that the Uchiha became much more physically orientated, but he couldn't take all the punishment that he could dish out forever.

Knowing he was being pushed back, the Uchiha parried his right handed punch and spun around, roundhouse kicking him in the jaw. It connected and caused some whiplash, but the Saiyan recovered quick enough to catch his foot. Goku glared at Sasuke and then began swinging the Uchiha into the ground. The Uchiha barely had a second to twist his body to where he landed on his back, absorbing some of the impact but also losing some of his breath. Sasuke quickly rolled to the side when Goku's fist slammed into the spot he was lying, feeling the ground vibrate and rumble around him and crack in multiple places as he climbed to his feet, a two foot deep hole being seen in the ground. The Uchiha was visibly surprised, to say the least.

"Wh-What the hell _is_ that guy?!" One of the students said in awe to his friend. "First he destroys a boulder with his fist, then he does _this_?!"

Sasuke's fan-girls wanted to cheer for their hero, but they were too immersed into the fighting going on.

Iruka didn't know what to think either. ' _Just how strong is this kid? What is he truly capable of_?'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Goku as the Saiyan stood back up to his feet, rubbing the dirt from his hand. The Uchiha grunted, ' _No, I'm not finished yet! I just need to step it up a notch_.' With that the Uchiha flickered on his Dojutsu, the Sharingan.

"Now I'll go all out," Sasuke claimed, smirking, his two-tomoe crimson colored eyes catching him off guard, "Witness my Sharingan!"

The Uchiha then did a back-flip to gain distance from the Saiyan, his hands flying through hand-signs before bringing his hand up to his mouth. " **Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu**!" A ball of flame erupted from Sasuke's mouth coming straight for the Saiyan who radiated pure confidence.

Iruka and the rest of the class called for Goku to get the hell out of the way. Iruka cursed himself for not mentioning that Jutsu's were against the rules for spars. He wouldn't be able to move in time to grab the Saiyan.

However, Goku simply pinpointed his Ki to his hands and used one of the only techniques he picked up from his master, the Kiai wave. He reeled his hands back, ignoring the screams of protest and caught the raging flame ball with his bare hands. Using his Ki, he created an invisible wave of Kiai force that hit the intense flame. However, the tactic backfired as the flame only increased in stature, and it surrounded the Saiyan.

"Shit!" The Saiyan bellowed, spreading out his arms and thinking quickly. Releasing that the Kiai wave didn't necessarily make the flame more intense and only caused the fire to spread, he unleashed another, stronger one directly in the center of flame. Clearing a narrow pathway, Goku sprinted right through the lane and dived to escape from the flame, receiving only one first-degree burn.

Sasuke's eyes widened as whilst he was behind the Saiyan. That took up a decent amount of chakra, and it seemed his Ki granted him the ability to deflect some of those attacks. Damn, he felt jealous that he didn't have that kind of power.

He kicked Goku in the upper-back area, sending him head first to the ground. Sasuke then went to attack him again when he noticed Goku wasn't there anymore with his Sharingan. ' _Damnit, his speed is simply unreal, he can even create afterimages! But I can see it now._ '

He immediately turned around and flung his kunai, hitting the tree where Goku was standing easily. He caught a blur racing towards him, and smirked. He had him right where he wanted him. Pulling out his ninja wire, he attached them to kunai with great hand speed and then flung them both around a tree. Seeing Goku come towards him as a blur, he threw a perfect curl route around the tree next to the first one and caught his shuriken in the process. Flinging on at Goku, he expected the Saiyan to evade, which he did. He yanked the wire on his left hand back attached the wire to a shuriken and connected with the original tree, capturing the Saiyan effectively.

"It's over, forfeit the match," Sasuke declared, the wire in his mouth.

"Hell no, I never give up!" Goku retorted, struggling against the ninja wire binding him to a tree.

"Fine then," The Uchiha sighed, charging a current of Raiton through his mouth and onto the wire, getting to him on both sides. Then an electrical storm occurred, one that blinded everyone trying to see what was going on. Everyone could hear Goku's struggles though, and to the Saiyan it felt worse than the first time. However, he survived more punishment than that from his former Master Roshi, and he wouldn't let this stop him in the slightest. Gathering his Ki, he opened his eyes and destroyed the tree behind him with an elbow which turned into ash soon after, making a perfect escape. When the storm of Raiton ended, they could see bits of the tree left, and a large pile of ash.

"Sasuke," Iruka growled, anger present in his voice, "What the _hell_ did you just do?!" The man yelled at him.

Sasuke was at a loss of words, "I..I…" The Uchiha didn't want to kill him, he just wanted to push his abilities to the limit. Now wha...

"That was a great plan and technique, I thought I was finished back there," The class gasped as they heard the voice. They looked up to see the kid, back in front of Sasuke once more, his navy hoodie being all but disintegrated, and looking a little roughed up. He threw it off and was left wearing a white T-shirt, that was almost perfectly unharmed. "That actually might have put me down for the count if I stayed in it a few seconds longer," The Saiyan smirked.

"No way, HE SURVIVED THAT!" A student shouted in obvious shock as they beheld the Saiyan his arms crossed and in decent condition. The class stood mouth agape, unable to put words together. And his very chiseled frame for their age made some of the girls blush in reaction.

Iruka breathed, "I-I can't believe it."

Sasuke was stunned, he had him right where he wanted him, but he managed to escape. The Uchiha didn't have too much more Jutsu's left in him, four at the most. He saw the Saiyan walking towards him, looking battle-prone, yet somewhat tired as well.

The Uchiha was turning out to be an awesome sparring partner so far, but he knew they couldn't go on forever. And he knew that he could still outlast Sasuke in a straight on fight to the end; not to death of course.

Before they could continue their spar that looked like came straight from the Chunin Exams itself, Iruka sighed, knowing it was getting too out of hand. "That's enough, this match is getting too out of control, I declare this a draw!"

There was a moment of silence from the class, before Shikamaru pointed out, "He...He just matched _Sasuke..._ blow for blow!"

Iruka rubbed his head before he smiled. ' _Guess we have a new contender for Rookie of the year._ ' He turned to his students as Goku walked back towards his class. "Alright everyone, class is dismissed. If you guys could please be so kind as to take Jomei and Kiba to the infirmary, I would really appreciate it."

A couple of random students dragged off Kiba and Jomei. Sakura and Ino gave Goku a look of wonder before walking off with the other girls. As Goku turned to leave he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder, he looked back to see Iruka. "Not you, Goku. I need to have a word with you."

The two were back in the empty classroom, Iruka sat in his desk with Goku out in front of him. "I must say, Goku, I am very impressed with the way you handled yourself today. You managed to beat a top contender in Kiba, and then match the number one rookie blow for blow!"

The Saiyan frowned, "I can't exactly say I like that. To be honest I was wanting to avoid having much spotlight on me, but I wanted a spar with Sasuke more, so yeah."

Iruka nodded, understanding where the soon-to-be teen was coming from. "I do want to address to you that the students will be graduating from the academy in two months, which should be fine for you because there wouldn't be much that you could get out of a semester with us other than knowledge. Now, the jutsu that the students would need to know to graduate, is called the **Bunshin no Jutsu**. Would you have any Ki techniques that would let you do something like that?"

Goku scratched his head as he thought back on the techniques Roshi taught him, "Clones, huh…" No light-bulb lit in his head. "No, but I know how to create after-images of myself using my speed that last like three seconds, check it out."

The Saiyan charged his Ki on the inside and then blitzed side to side. In seconds, seven images of Goku were created that looked real. "Look." "This." "Right." "Here." "Is." "My." "Technique." Each image said while the real Goku was still on the move.

"Wow," Iruka said with piqued interest. "It's very similar to the **Bunshin** in that they're both transparent, but yours is made from sheer speed alone."

"Pretty cool huh," Goku said simply.

Iruka nodded. "Yeah, but you should get home Goku, you're practically a Genin already."

"Thanks Iruka, I can't wait." The Saiyan said as he moved to leave the building, his hands in his pockets.

 **-Two Months Later-**

Goku groaned as he slammed his fist into the log again, creating more splinters. It was part of his one hour early morning workout, which consisted of 1000 push-ups, 1000 sit-ups, 1000 punches on the trees with each arm, 1000 kicks on the trees with each leg, and 25 sprints around the whole village at full speed. It was insanity quite honestly, because he wore his weighted practice gi throughout the entirety of it. By the end of the workout even he was very exhausted from it all. And he did all of that before the Academy everyday, always staying in form and being extremely conditioned. What's the point of having flashy techniques when you can't sustain it, or you don't have the power to finish? There is none.

Finishing in about ten minutes later, the preteen jumped into the shower to cleanse himself. Afterwards he put on his navy blue T-shirt that he wears underneath his orange gi without the orange gi itself and grey cargo pants with the normal navy colored boots. Cracking his knuckles and stretching his usual rather aching muscles, he departed for the Academy.

 **-With Naruto; Later-**

Naruto groaned as he laid his head down on his table. Iruka was giving another lecture, and to the same person. When would he realize that none of the boys in the class ever truly listened to his lectures, only the girls did? After all they had to look good for their Sasuke-kun, however Naruto still thought of him as more of a teme than anything else. Though he had to respect the Uchiha, as the redhead originally thought Sasuke got everything easily and didn't work for it. In the end, it was the exact opposite. Sasuke worked for everything he had with a work ethic that rivaled his own.

Naruto frowned as Iruka started to scan over the class to see if any of them were paying any attention. He sat upright as he passed his area, as he did not want to get in trouble. Once Iruka stopped looking his way he laid his head down on the table again and began to nod off. Goku's eyes drooped and he realized he didn't care what Iruka was saying anyways, so he cracked his knuckles to amuse himself, sitting to the right side of Hinata.

"Naruto, you should actually pay attention," he heard a gentle and soft voice whisper.

Naruto smiled at Hinata. "Sorry Hinata-chan. It's just that this is so boring. We're getting the Genin Exams tomorrow, and reviewing basic stuff like this is so dull."

"Heh, he's right!" Goku stated, clenching his fists to hear the cracks, "This isn't needed at all, it's old and boring review."

Goku then took a look a the girl sitting next to him, noticing her outfit was slightly different than before. Hinata looked the same as she did two months; except that her jacket was jet black (think of Shippuden Hinata's jacket but ebony in color) and her ninja shoes were black as well. She had a similar personality from when Goku had arrived in the first place, only it seemed like something drastic happened recently in her life as she seemed much more aggressive in sparring sessions. Also her midnight colored hair was placed into a spiky ponytail.

Naruto had actually changed a lot though. He now wore a sleeveless black T-shirt with dark orange bandages going up the entirety of his right arm. On those bandages was the blue Konoha leaf symbol, which was directly on his shoulder. He sported dark orange, baggy pants that reached his black shinobi sandals. There was a black belt holding up the pants which had a weapon holster attached to it. Lastly, he wore mesh armor underneath his entire outfit. He had also grown to near eye to eye level with Sasuke and Goku. The redhead was still a bit shorter, though he would catch up eventually. And it was amazing to think that Goku had surpassed him height, as just a few years back he was the shortest boy in the class.

However, Naruto had not just changed in terms of clothing. No his personality had changed also, as well as his skill. While he still tended to act rather brash, hyperactive, and sensitive, he also had his moments of genius and silence. He also had gone leaps and bounds in his skill. When he first started his training with Kakashi he was not even close to genin level, but now he was definitely above normal Genin-level, yet not Chunin-level, or in a rival sense of things Sasuke's level.

"But if Naruto wants to be the Hokage, he has to pay attention in class. Managing the Academy is also apart of the job criteria," Hinata replied to Goku.

"I know Hinata-chan, I can't forget. You keep reminding me," Naruto cut in as he pouted to her. Hinata just smiled and started paying attention in class again.

Naruto instead decided to scout out all of his possible teammates that would be useful. Of course there was Goku, Hinata, Chouji, and Shikamaru but he knew he wouldn't get them. Call it a gut instinct, but he doubted they would be on his team, no matter how much he truly wanted them to be. There was Shino, whom was actually someone Naruto found rather creepy. He was exceedingly silent, even quieter than Sasuke and Shikamaru combined, and that was saying something.

Shino was fair-skinned and actually the tallest out of everyone in the class. He had dark, bushy, brown hair and dark, narrow eyes. He wore a sea-green jacket with a high, upturned collar with dark sunglasses. He wore brown pants that stopped just above his ankles leading to his standard blue shinobi sandals.

Then there was Ino and Sakura. He had developed a crush on both of them, Ino was first but Sakura had followed suit soon enough. The big difference though was that the blonde girl didn't ignore him and treat him harshly whilst Sakura did. Though both of them developed crushes on Sasuke, Ino was loose with it while Sakura had fell head over heels in "love". And Ino never seemed to dislike him, yet not like him in that way at the same time, but every time he asked out Sakura he received a punch to the head. Yet, both of them made it clear that they weren't interested in him. Also, Ino actually had some training in the Shinobi arts, whilst Sakura had none. However, Sakura wasn't a complete weakling as she wasn't too shabby at Taijutsu anymore, she just didn't know any techniques. Still it was obviously no comparison, he would rather have Ino on his team.

There was Kiba, whom only increased his size and still wore the same style of clothing. Lastly, there was, begrudgingly, Sasuke. While Naruto would not deny that Sasuke was a very skilled and competitive rival, he also could not deny, nor would he attempt to, that Sasuke was a complete asshole. He didn't listen to what anyone said bar Kakashi, and more often than not ridiculed you for appearing weak. He hardly changed since two months ago besides growth. The only thing that changed about him was that he wore white bandages going up both of his forearms instead of the arm warmers. And he took to wearing weights underneath the bandages, which were incredibly useful when it came to gaining strength.

Iruka frowned at the class. None of them were truly paying attention, save a few. They were too excited about tomorrow, when the Genin Exams took place. He knew this would happen, and honestly he couldn't get angry at them. He had done the same thing after all with his own instructor.

 **-The Next Day-**

As the Saiyan approached the front door to the Academy, he found things to be a lot similar to how they were yesterday, as in, most of the students were up out of their seats conversing with one another, some sitting on the tables instead of in their seats, except for a select few, being Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and that Shino guy.

The force of about 30 pairs of eyeballs staring at him as soon as he walked in made the Saiyan want to leave behind an afterimage and dip. Literally. Luckily for him, Iruka and another silver-haired man walked through a door in the room, chatting about something irrelevant to the class.

Iruka cleared his throat, "Alright class everyone take a seat, you all know what today i-" He turned to see Goku standing by the door, his arms crossed. "Ah Goku, take a seat and pay attention."

"Yeah, yeah whatever," Goku stated calmly, sitting next to Naruto.

The redhead was rather anxious, excited rather, a big smile plastered on his face, and he found it overall difficult to sit still. Goku turned to the redhead, obviously concerned about him. "Uh, are you okay Naruto?"

The red-haired wannabe shinobi didn't even turn his way, too excited for his own good. "OfcourseIam!" He shot out extremely fast.

Iruka continued, holding up a clipboard. "So, we will now proceed with the final exam. When you're name is called you will advance into the testing room. The final test will be on the **Bunshin no Jutsu**."

Iruka then called the first student up, him and Mizuki leading said person into the room. As time went by and a few students went, Gokus' turn was up and he was sent into the testing room.

"Good luck," Hinata said from the seat above him in a soft voice.

"Thanks," The Saiyan said, making one clap before jogging down the stairs and into the room.

When he walked through the door he noticed that it was a mostly empty room aside from the small desk at the front of the room. At the desk sat Iruka and the other man from earlier. The scarred man motioned the Saiyan over, "Goku, I would like to introduce you to Mizuki, he's a very close friend of mine and is also another teacher here at the school."

Mizuki smiled at the Saiyan and held his hand out, "Nice to meet you Goku-san."

Goku hesitated for a moment, something in his instincts didn't sit well with that man's smile. Call him crazy, but he just knew that the smile on his face was obviously a mask for much malice and ill intent. Though the Saiyan knew this, he still took Mizuki's hand and shook it to avoid being rude. "Nice to meet you too Mizuki-san."

' _I need to keep an eye out for this guy, in case I need to kick his ass._ '

Iruka continued, leaning back in the chair to make himself comfortable, "Alright Goku, all you have to do is the technique you showed me two months back and you become a genin, as simple as that."

The Saiyan, seeing that coming, channeled his Ki on the inside before blitzing, creating five different afterimages whilst still moving. Mizuki was impressed, he turned to Iruka, "Wow! I guess you weren't lying about him using Ki, and he even has a technique similar to the **Bunshin no Jutsu**."

Iruka smirked smugly, "I told you so."

Mizuki turned to Goku. "So are you able to attack with those clones?"

Goku nodded, "Yeah, but only for distractions. They aren't physical, but the attack could throw some people off guard, like a physically-made Genjutsu."

The silver-haired man nodded, "Well Iruka, I say he passes, do you?"

"Of course. Goku, come take your headband, you are now a genin of Konohagakure."

Goku smiled, and took his headband with glee, which was the same cloth that other shinobi wore with a silver plate at the front, a design of the leaf symbol etched in the metal. Now it was time for him to take the world by storm, a tribute to Master Roshi. "Thanks Iruka-sensei."

The scarred man waved him off, "Don't sweat it Goku, it was a pleasure having you. Although our time together was short I must admit!" Iruka laughed.

Goku went back to the classroom to wait out the rest of the tests. He noticed a few girls that kept ogling at him whenever he turned his back. The Saiyan didn't know whether to feel uncomfortable, offended, or even flattered at the attention, so he settled on ignoring it. He took the headband and tied it around his head without hesitation, keeping his locks over it.

More and more students began finishing their exams, almost pushing Naruto to the brink of a suspense related coma.

"Naruto, you're up," Iruka called.

An explosion of joy erupted from the redhead who almost hit the ceiling of the room. "Finally, let's do this!" Naruto ran into the testing room in an orange blur. The redhead stood in front of his sensei and Mizuki, a look of utmost confidence clear on his features.

"Alright Naruto, you know the drill. Make at least two functional clones and you pass."

"Actually Iruka-Sensei, I couldn't learn the **Bunshin no Jutsu** , but I found an even better Jutsu that you'll _certainly_ pass me for knowing."

Iruka shook his head in disappointment, "Naruto you know you can't just-"

" **Kage** **Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Iruka and Mizuki's eyes widened at the sight of over ten clones filling the space behind Naruto, all with the redheads megawatt fox grin splitting their cheeks.

The two chunin gaped with open mouths over the blondes work. Iruka managed to stutter out, "N-Naruto, h-how did you manage to-, you picked it up from Kakashi in training didn't you!" Anger was present in the man's voice, completed with veins popping up around his forehead. "That Jutsu is forbidden for a reason!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head accompanied with a nervous laugh, "Hehe, yeah. What can I say, I couldn't help myself!"

Iruka let out a sigh, before he smiled. "Well Naruto, you managed to perform a jutsu _above_ your skill level, I think it's undeniable that you've earned this headband. Congratulations!" The redheads blue eyes widened in a mixture of overjoy and a hint of disbelief. Tears built up in the blondes eyes as he dispersed the jutsu, and took his first steps towards the table. He stopped when Mizuki spoke up.

"W-wait a minute Iruka, he didn't actually do the jutsu that he was assigned, meaning he didn't fulfill the requirements to pass the test." Naruto's face became downcast, and his world felt as if it would come crashing down. Was there no hope left for him?

Iruka gave the man a deadpan look, "Seriously Mizuki, Naruto learned a jutsu that was high Chunin level and beyond. And on top of that he made over _ten_ shadow clones, which is unheard of for a Genin! If anyone deserves to pass, it's him." Naruto's spirit came right back up.

Mizuki nodded as Naruto took a headband. He was calm on the outside, but on the inside he was _furious._ ' _Damnit all! Now my plans are ruined. No, actually, I can still work this to my advantage somehow._ ' He managed to tell himself.

 **-After The Academy-**

The two were sitting on top of a building roof that gave a decent view of the village.

"So Naruto, tell me, what's your goal as a shinobi? What do you look to accomplish by being one?" Mizuki asked the blonde sitting next to him.

"My goal... is to be the Hokage! That way everyone will respect and look up to me."

Mizuki raised an eyebrow, "Hokage huh? That's a pretty big goal, but one worth aspiring after. But you know, to be Hokage you have to know an insane amount of jutsu, and be the strongest person within the village."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah I know. But that's why I'm never gonna stop training and getting stronger. Nothing's gonna hold me back!"

Mizuki chuckled, "I love your spirit Naruto, and that's why I want to help you achieve your dream."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes brightened.

"Yep. And I know just the way for you to do it."

 **-With Goku-**

After buying some energy reactant weights to train with using the money given to him by the Sandaime, he walked through the streets, ready to train in order to fulfill his promise to Upa. It had been about four months since that incident, and he knew he had been training diligently. However, to take on Tao and his entire army he knew he needed even harder training. What he was already doing was pretty insane, but he wanted to step the insanity up a notch to the category of 'downright ludicrous'.

However, while he was walking towards his apartment, he heard murmurs...

" _Hey, what is it Yoroski?"_

" _It's the demon-child, he's just stolen the scroll of sealing!"_

" _What the hell?!"_

" _Yeah, Lord Hokage's just put out a mass search for him."_

" _Damnit, let's go!"_

The ninja's scurried out to search, spreading the word.

' _Naruto? Steal? What the hell is going on?!_ ' Goku already knew the redhead was a bit of a troublemaker, but he shouldn't have gone this far. He better get out there and stop him before he got himself in irredeemably big trouble. Luckily he had improved his energy sensing ability. It was hard for him at first because all he sensed was Ki, but due to the fact that Chakra and Ki had some similar components, he somewhat learnt how to adapt to it. Also, Naruto's energy was distinguishable from the rest for some odd reason, so it was easy to accomplish.

Taking off, he felt for Naruto's energy and picked it up. It was just his luck that he felt for it during the spars and being around him, or he wouldn't have had anything to go on. Goku sensed the redheads energy out in the forests along with Iruka's and Mizuki's...the latter of whom was giving off an extremely foul and hostile energy.

Goku cursed, "Damnit, I knew there was something off about that guy!" He unleashed his Ki in a light blue aura and sprinted at full speed, untraceable to any of the civilians looking as he moved at chunin-level speeds with relative ease. To be truthful, his speed couldn't be placed into a category, as some shinobi were simply faster and stronger than others regardless of ranking, so it was too hard to make that comparison. Like Gai and the Hokage for example; the Jonin was the faster shinobi in general, but the Sandaime would still win in a fight to the death unless Gai went to seventh gate, let alone the eighth.

 **-Two Minutes Later-**

"Time to die Naruto!" Mizuki shouted as he threw his giant shuriken at Naruto, whom tried to scramble away for his life. Like the blades of a helicopter the blades chopped through the air at a speed and velocity that would split Naruto in half if it connected.

Iruka was pinned and injured against a tree by a surprise kunai barrage. "NARUTO, GET DOWN!" Iruka screamed for dear life.

The redhead found himself caught in a trap laid out perfectly by Mizuki, pinning him to the ground via wires. He had nowhere to run or hide to regroup, this happened to be the end. Suddenly, a hand grabbed the giant Shuriken out of midair, throwing it towards Mizuki whom dodged, sending it off to the trees in a flurry of sparks.

' _What!_ ' Was the collective thoughts of the spectators. They didn't expect to see a familiar ebony haired Saiyan to save Naruto's life, making Mizuki grin.

"Ah, Goku-san. I wouldn't have expected to see you come outta... nowhere. But then again it seems you have a knack for that, don't you?"

The Saiyan shrugged, "I suppose that's true, but what's going on here? I get the feeling that I'm in on something big." His voice dripping with obvious sarcasm.

"Well, now that you mention it, I was just getting rid of the villages wretch."

Goku raised an eyebrow, "Seems a little harsh for someone who's only pulled a few pranks for attention at being mistreated."

Mizuki shook his head with a smirk, "Oh no Goku, it's a bit more than that. You see the kid standing behind you is literally a _monster_."

Naruto's face twisted from the mentioning of that word. Iruka growled, "Mizuki stop it!"

The man shrugged innocently, "What? I'm just saying it how it is. But Goku, considering you're a novice to this villages history I think you should learn some. You should listen to this too Naruto."

Iruka shouted, "Mizuki don't!"

Mizuki ignored him though. "Twelve years ago there was a beast that attacked the hidden leaf village. This beast was known as the Nine Tailed Fox. The demon was too powerful for even the 4th Hokage to stop. So he only had one choice. To Seal it into the body of a newborn baby." Naruto's eyes widened with realization. "And that baby-" Mizuki continued.

"Was Naruto," Goku finished, shrugging his shoulders.

Naruto stared at the ground in disbelief. "No... No…"

"So don't you get it now Naruto. _You're_ the nine tailed fox demon that nearly destroyed our village and killed Iruka's parents!" Mizuki then looked to Goku. "And don't _you_ get it Goku, this is why that little monster needs to die." Goku took a glance back at Naruto, who looked ready to cross a despair event horizon, before turning back to Mizuki, a glare on his face.

"That's it? He's a monster because of that?! If you ask me, he's doing you all a pretty big favor by carrying around something that powerful." Goku narrowed his eyes, "And between you and me, if that's what you people call a monster, then you guys are pathetic!" The face of Mercenary Tao flashed through his eyes, lighting a fire within his gut.

Mizuki growled and pulled his last remaining Shuriken. "Don't you talk down on me you little punk!" He threw the blade that shot straight for the Saiyan, who didn't look the slightest bit fazed.

"Goku, get down!" Iruka yelled as he struggled to pick himself up from his position, his body too badly injured from Mizuki's attack. However, if he didn't get in there Goku was surely done for. The Shuriken went from horizontal to vertical in its travel making Goku smirk and pivot on his right leg, effortlessly twisting his body to dodge the shuriken that sailed harmlessly by.

Iruka and Naruto gasped. Mizuki growled, ' _How the hell did that bastard just-!_ ' He vigorously shook his head before pulling two kunai from his holster, leaping from the tree and charging at Goku, whom smirked in anger. "Come on Naruto, let's take this bastard down, together!"

"Right, **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Naruto shouted, fifty other redheads poofing into existence. "Let's kick his ass!"

The Saiyan flashed his aura and just fazed out from Mizuki's view, before reappearing in front of him and putting his fist so far deep into the man's stomach one could see the bulge on the other side. Mizuki spit up a mouth full of blood and saliva as he was sent flying in the opposite direction, skidding along the forest floor as he landed.

Then the original Naruto ran behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling upwards. The clones promptly ganged up on him and beat him into a pulp easily, the sheer numbers overwhelming the traitor. As soon as Naruto finished, a still conscious Mizuki was launched out of the smoke cloud from the dispelling of the clones.

Goku then held his hand out at beaten Mizuki, charging his Ki as the man began to stand back up. "It's over, you're done for." The Saiyan stated with a cool voice, not going to show any mercy whatsoever to those who're evil. The wake-up call he had from fighting Tao and what the man had gone on to do after he "killed him" resolved itself into his mind. No more mercy, no more sparing the people that are evil to the core.

"Goku wait!" Naruto got up next to the Saiyan stopping his attack. Goku gave the redhead a questionable look in response.

"I wanna test out this Jutsu I learned from the scroll. You mind?"

Goku took a few steps back, "Go ahead, let's see it!"

Iruka was also curious as to what the redhead was planning. Was he really capable of learning a Jutsu from the scroll of sealing? A scroll that contained high Chunin-level Jutsu and _beyond_? Actually, now that he thought about it, he did already learn the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. What else was the Uzumaki capable of?

Naruto's hands flashed through hand-signs, before he took a deep breath, " **Futon: Shinkugyoku no Jutsu**!" A dozen of pocket sized bullets of wind fired from Naruto's mouth and shot at Mizuki, whom was just now climbing back to his feet.

' _WHAT THE HELL!_ ' He screamed before the balls each slammed into him. Not only did each ball possess enough force to hit him with strength almost on par with that of Goku's, they would also shred the cloth on his clothes as well. The first ball knocked him off his feet, but he kept getting blasted with each ball one after the other which sent him like a train into the nearest tree, cracking the bark and making him slide to the ground in a heap.

Iruka's mouth was hanging open in a broken fashion, ' _I-Impossible! That's a Jonin level technique and he simply learned it in a few hours!?_ '

"That was pretty cool," Goku told Naruto who scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Hehe, to be honest I think I overdid it a little," The Jinchuuriki said, taking in Mizuki's condition. He had large cuts and bruises all over the visible flesh on his body, and most of his clothes were shredded. He wasn't one-hundred percent unconscious though, surprisingly.

Iruka chuckled, "Well Naruto, as always you never fail to surprise me. You've learned a Jutsu that's well out of your ninja rank, in only a few hours at that!"

"Thanks Iruka-sensei, but is it true? Am I... really a monster?"

Goku cut in, "Hell no. Carrying a monster that could destroy the village easily makes you a hero if anything."

"Goku is right," Iruka nodded, "Despite what anyone else says you're not the Kyuubi, your it's jailer. You keep _that_ monster from coming out and destroying us all, thus doing a greater service to the village than many shinobi could muster."

Groans came from Mizuki as he twitched and shook sporadically in his spot. Naruto turned to Iruka, "So what are we gonna do about him sen-"

Goku's clenched fist opened up, and he accumulated very unstable, cerulean Ki into his right palm. Charging it for a few seconds, he reeled his arm back and unleashed the sporadic energy cannon towards the downed Mizuki. The cannon connected, and it erupted in a shock-wave that followed an ensuing explosion, making Naruto and Iruka shield their eyes from the rocks and dust.

Iruka shakily moved his arms from his eyes as the explosion died down. "G-Goku, what did you..." He looked to see a crater and a small bit of black ash where Mizuki once was. The tree and a few dozen feet behind him had been wiped out as well.

Naruto was horrified, "Goku, why'd you do that?!"

"He was evil, and it didn't make much sense to leave him alive. He would have just did something evil again if he was arrested," Goku rationalized, his voice cold.

"It's still the job of a grownup to handle these kind of situations, Goku. It wasn't your call when he was already incapacitated."

Goku jerked, "Yeah whatever, but aren't we Genin and all Shinobi's are considered adults? I guess you're right though, I apologize Iruka-sensei."

The scarred Chunin sighed before taking another glance at the scarred earth that Mizuki became apart of. "Well, he was a traitor to the village, so he was more than likely going to be executed on the spot anyways. Don't let it eat you up Goku." He then changed the subject, "So, I think, how about we return this scroll, and I treat you boys to some Ramen?"

Naruto's face brightened, "Sounds like a great idea to me! What about you Goku?" It was then that the Saiyans stomach growled, making him blush and let out a laugh. "I'll take that as a yes! Let's go Iruka-sensei!"

The hyperactive redhead ran off through the forest, making Iruka let out a, "Hey wait up Naruto!" And then, he was chased by the Chunin and Goku.

Hiruzen was sitting in his office, having watched the entire incident from within his office from his crystal ball. He chuckled, "Well done boys. Well done."

An Anbu rushed into his office, "Lord Hokage, we still can't find Naruto!"

The Hokage waved a dismissive hand, "Call off the search. Everything is going to be fine." Hiruzen then voiced in his head, ' _Now I should get a search party into the woods to clean up Mizuki's remains. But I do wonder, just what could Goku have gone through to give him such a do or die attitude that he never seemed to have before?'_ Hiruzen would have to find out more about the boys endeavors, and also get him assigned to a jonin. He would take care of that tomorrow.


	10. First Rodeos

_Chapter 10: First Rodeo's_

* * *

 _ **-The Next Day-**_

"Now then, as you know, today we'll be holding the true Genin exams..." Iruka was interrupted with a knock at the door. He answered to find the Hokage in front him.

"Hokage-sama!" Shouted a surprised Iruka.

"Iruka, I'm changing the exams into a practical test. I looked over your evaluation reports of your students, and formed them into balanced teams. Their tests will be decided by their Jonin Senseis," spoke the Hokage as he handed Iruka a list.

"Very well," Iruka said as he began to look over the sheet. "Okay, I will break you off into teams. Your Jonin will decide from there."

Iruka then began to read off the teams. Both Sasuke and Naruto listened for their names, as well as Goku. "Okay now, the new Team Seven will be led by... Hatake Kakashi, and shall consist of... Uchiha Sasuke..." Sasuke's expression remained blank, "Haruno Sakura..." a loud squeal of delight could be heard throughout the room. "And finally, Uzumaki Naruto." This caused the Uchiha and Uzumaki to have slight smirks and the Haruno to slump in defeat at gaining Naruto.

"Team Eight shall be led by...Uzuki Yugao, and consist of Son Goku..." Goku looked at Iruka with surprise, recognizing that name almost instantly. "Hyuga Hinata..." The two Genin then lightly smiled. "...And Nara Shikamaru." Iruka then stated that Team Nine was still in action, and nobody honestly cared.

However, Shikamaru appeared very surprised at this sudden turn of events, not knowing why he wasn't placed with Choji and Ino. _'I could have sworn they would have put me on a team with Chouji and Ino. Our parents' teamwork was legendary and our parents even mentioned talking to Hokage-Sama about purposely recreating the team through us! Not that I'm going to complain: I would work well with Goku and Hinata as well. They're very strong in their own rights, and that makes my job that much easier. Just wondering, what could have changed his mind...'_

"Team Ten, which will be lead by Sarutobi Asuma is consisted of..." Naruto knew the name. ' _He's that wind using Jonin Kakashi told me about. I wonder why Jiji didn't put me on his team.'_ Iruka continued. "... Akimichi Choji, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Yamanaka Ino."

"Well, now that you all know your teams, you are free to take a one hour break for lunch. You will then come back here to meet up with your Jonin Sensei. You are dismissed for now!" Iruka informed the students. Iruka then left the vicinity, leaving everyone to converse with one another. Goku, Sasuke and Naruto then walked over to each other.

"Well, I guess it makes sense we're all not on the same team. He did say that they were balanced. I guess having us three on one team would be overkill," spoke Naruto, then looking at Sasuke. "But at least two of us are, which still makes this thing unfair for the rest of y'all."

"Yeah... but why did I have to get stuck that useless fan-girl on my team?" replied Sasuke, annoyed as hell.

"Well, I dunno. I guess it's up to us to make her more useful then," The redhead replied, scratching his shaggy unkempt hair.

"Yeah, she's probably there to balance you guys out, which would mean she's a rather miserable shinobi," added Goku, snickering.

Goku then looked over at Naruto and Sasuke. "Looks like you both have your work cut out for you. Enjoy it, hehehe..." Goku walked off, laughing at their predicament.

"Okay, so does anyone wanna go over areas of weakness and strength so we can properly function as a team instead of being in shambles?" Naruto asked.

"Good point," Sasuke muttered with a low voice, "Go first since you asked then."

"Fine! My strengths are my Chakra reserves, Taijutsu, physical strength, speed, endurance and stamina. I'm decent when it comes to Ninjutsu, and I'm a novice on Fuuinjutsu. My weaknesses are Genjutsu, pinpoint accuracy, planning before something, and perception cuz' I can't seem to spot too many traps," Naruto admitted, "Oh, and I like to think on my feet in a fight."

"Hn. My strengths are Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, speed, physical strength, weapon accuracy and perception. I'm decent on my endurance and stamina, my Chakra reserves are good enough, second highest in the class. My weaknesses are Genjutsu, Fuuinjutsu, and the ability to improvise in a fight as I go," Uchiha Sasuke admitted. To think that Sasuke would admit his fallacies was astounding, well to Naruto at least.

"I'm decent at Taijutsu and great at thinking, but that's all. I don't have any particular strengths; I try to keep a balanced style," spoke Sakura, making her teammates sweat-drop, knowing that she couldn't really do anything to help them. She just wanted to impress her Sasuke-kun, that's all.

 _ **-Exactly One Hour Later With Team Eight-**_

"Hey guys! So, I guess we're going to be on a team together from now on," spoke Goku, scratching his unkempt hair with a sheepish smile. "So um, what should we do while we wait for Yugao-sensei?"

"Alright, we already know each other's names. So what do you guys specialize in?" Inquired Shikamaru, not really knowing either of his fellow teammates too well.

"I primarily specialize in my clans Jyuken Taijutsu," replied Hinata, "I guess I'm also decent on Ninjutsu, even though I only know one jutsu."

"Shikamaru is the smartest person in our class," added Hinata, putting the Nara in the spotlight, "And that would make him the teams strategist."

"Ah, that's good, because I've been told that I'm not the sharpest kunai of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some ignorant dumbass, just not the best strategist to put it lightly," spoke Goku. "Anyways, my specialty is straight up Taijutsu, because that's all I can do."

"Oh yeah! I can do Ki techniques as well, I almost forgot," added the Saiyan, scratching his spiky for the second time. "What do you specialize in Shikamaru?"

"What a drag. Well, outside of clan jutsu's... I haven't really found my niche to be honest," The Nara said, shrugging his shoulders and yawning.

"So, already talking strategy eh?" It wasn't long until the classroom began filling up and their teacher walked in. She was a slender woman whose age they couldn't really tell. She looked around eighteen to twenty two years old, though she definitely could have been younger or older than that. She had beautiful, vibrant purple hair and wore red lipstick.

"Y-Yugao-sensei?" Stammered the Saiyan, whom recognized her right off the bat as she was the prime caretaker of him and Naruto when they were younger. Nostalgia found itself flashing through the boys mind, and he cracked a smile.

"Smart boy, yes, indeed I am," spoke Yugao, a smile on her face as well. "Damn Goku, you've grown so much taller since the last time I saw you that barely recognize you!"

It had been the truth, the Saiyan could nearly look his future sensei dead in the eye, which was a testament from how much he sprouted up from being a little squirt.

"Okay, as you all know, my name is Yugao and I'll be your sensei, assuming you pass the test I have set up for you," she reintroduced herself, but to her whole squad this time around and not just Goku.

"So, you must be Nara Shikamaru?" Asked Yugao for confirmation.

The Nara simply nodded in response.

"Which makes you Hyuga Hinata?" Spoke the Ex-anbu.

Hinata nodded in response just like Shikamaru did a few seconds prior.

"Very well. After we get to know each other more in a restaurant, I'll administer your test," spoke Yugao in finality, "Follow me, I'll treat you all to lunch."

 _ **-With Team Seven-**_

Team 7 was the last team in the room after all the other Teams had left, including Team Ten. "WHERE IS HE!?" Sakura screeched loudly, cracking her fists in anger. Sasuke and Naruto covered their ears before looking at Sakura with annoyance.

"I told you Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei is late for anything other than an A or S-rank mission by at least two hours," Naruto said, but Sakura just ignored him.

"Err; I'll kill him, HOW DARE HE BE LATE!"

Sasuke just groaned. She was overreacting but she was actually right, something they could agree on for once. How could a Jonin that was supposed to be the best of the best be two hours late to everything other than A or S-ranked missions. It made no sense. It made Sasuke wonder how his surrogate time-to-time sempai Kakashi even got his position as all around THE BEST Jonin in the village.

Their cries were answered soon after as a man walked into the room, that man, Kakashi Hatake. "Yo," the man said, however he was interrupted with a, "YOU'RE LATE!" by Sakura. Needless to say, Kakashi just looked at her and yawned, not really giving a damn about what she just said.

"Let's see, my first impression of you is…I really hate you."

Sasuke's eye twitched, Naruto smirked evilly, and Sakura face planted. She stood preparing to yell at Kakashi, but she saw him walking out the door. "Meet me on the roof of the academy ASAP, and by that I mean in no more than five minutes, also known as two minutes. Get moving." The Hatake then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Same old bastard," Sasuke muttered under his breath as he stood and walked out the room, followed by Naruto and Sakura. As per Kakashi's promise, he was actually at the academy rooftop in two minutes, which rather surprised Naruto and Sasuke as they thought that he would be two hours late, again. It wasn't abnormal. As Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto sat down on the steps in front of Kakashi, he began to speak.

"Hey, I'm Kakashi Hatake as you all know. Now, let's get straight to the point shall we. Introduce yourselves, like hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes, crap like that."

"Can you go first, as an example?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi looked at her strangely. ' _I chose her because she was the top of the class in academics, even though I knew she lacked in the shinobi department. I wanted Hinata till I realized Sakura would be a better match for Sasuke and Naruto in a fight than Hinata, yet she needs an example to understand how to do something this simple_?'

"Okay, I guess I'll go. I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… Hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies…"

Naruto smiled as Sakura put her head down, realizing that all he did was tell them his name. However, Naruto was going to rain on Kakashi's parade.

"His name is Kakashi Hatake. He likes reading smut, and likes to eat miso soup. He dislikes anything fried or sweet, and people who say his smut is horrid. He went on 197 D-rank missions, 190-C-rank missions, 414 B-rank missions, 398 A-rank missions, and 82 S-rank missions. His favorite hobby is training, and reading his smut. He's a former Anbu captain as well, but I dunno about his dreams."

Kakashi growled at Naruto, "I shouldn't have let you go into my records, damnit." Naruto simply smiled with a prankster gleam in his eyes. Kakashi then sighed and pointed towards Sakura.

"You first."

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like...," she giggled and looked at Sasuke, blushing at her. "I mean who I like is..." She giggled again. "And my dreams are...," she blushed absurdly and looked at Sasuke once again.

' _Kami save me_ ,' Sasuke prayed, placing his hands on his face in shame, ' _This is absolutely pathetic._ '

"As for your dislikes…" Kakashi trailed off, the answer being extremely loud. "INO-PIG AND NARUTO-BAKA!"

"I see," Kakashi said slowly, looking at her strangely, before pointing towards Sasuke. "You're next, broody."

This received a low scowl from the Uchiha, but he answered anyways. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream...because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan... and kill a certain... someone."

' _So cool_ ,' Sakura thought in her fantasies, gushing.

"Teme," Naruto mumbled. Sakura was about to hit him before Sasuke replied with a mutter, "Dobe," under his breath. The two butted heads, lightning shooting between their eyes as a sign of an intense rivalry.

"Say it again, and I'll kick your ass!" They both said, making it into a unified shout, a hair's length from resorting to attacks. Kakashi just sighed and pushed them apart with one-hand for each Genin.

"Break it up. Now, you're last, Naruto."

Naruto laughed. "Fine. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, training, and my precious people. I hate the three minutes it takes to get ramen ready and arrogant pricks that think everyone else is beneath them. Finally I have my dream. The only one is to become the Greatest Hokage of all time, that way people will look at me like I'm somebody, somebody important and not just a worthless orphan..." Naruto trailed off at that, reminded of the fact that he had neither mother nor father.

Kakashi frowned. If it wasn't an S-rank secret he would have told Naruto who his parents were, and also told him about the Kyuubi.

"Well then, meet me at Training Ground 7 tomorrow morning at ten. Also, don't eat breakfast; it'll just make it worse." The Hatake then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto smiled. Tomorrow was the day, the day he would see if he was truly worthy of becoming a Genin.

 _ **-A Few Minutes Later-**_

Uzuki Yugao lead her fresh genin squad to Dangoya, a dango and sweets restaurant located near the academy. The four then walked into the restaurant, and a waiter escorted them to a table in the corner of the place. After he took the orders of Yugao and her squad, the four were left alone to mingle however they please.

 _'Mm...I've fell in love with this place too much; damn you Anko,'_ Yugao thought, taking in the fragrance of food within the restaurant.

"...Ummmmm...Sensei?" Hinata finally broke the silence.

"Yes, what do you want?" The woman asked her.

"Shouldn't you be going over the team protocol and crap now? I mean, that's what you said we'd be doing," Goku pointed out to her with a calm voice.

"I should be..." Yugao thought to herself with a sigh. "...Fine, let's begin."

The three Genin nodded at her words, still staring at their Sensei in curiosity.

"So, let's start with introducing ourselves to each other," Yugao stated with calm tone.

"What do you want to know Sensei?" Hinata inquired, already liking her new sensei's attitude.

She laughed. "How about this: tell me your name, things you like and dislike, hobbies, dreams...the basic kind of stuff. As a matter of fact, why don't you go first?"

"Sure, I'll gladly go first," Hinata replied back, sitting back in her seat next to Goku.

"Okay so... my name is Hyuga Hinata. I like spending time with my friends, training, and I also really like cinnamon rolls. I dislike people who are rude to others for no apparent reason and many of my clan's traditions. My hobbies are training, spending time with my friends, and depending on my mood flower pressing. My dream... I wouldn't mind having a family one day..."A small smile on Hinata's face came to be at the comment. A few seconds after, smile died down and her eyes gained more focus. "...But before that, I want to be a splendid shinobi independent of my clan name, and fix the many problems that're within my clan."

 _'Hmm... she wants to be a capable Kunoichi noticed from her own actions, not her clan's reputation.'_ Yugao silently praised. _'Hmm...but she is different than most Hyuga members though. She doesn't have as much cockiness, and that's pretty good all things considered.'_

"Well that's pretty ambitious of you, Hinata," Yugao told her with a smile.

"I agree!" Goku voiced his own opinion, agreeing with his "future" sensei.

"Alright," Yugao shrugged, "Goku, it's your turn!"

Goku grinned, cracking his knuckles while speaking. "The name's Son Goku, and I like spending time with my friends, training, and training some more. I also like to eat plenty of food, at least four ten-course meals everyday. I hate heartless bastards that kill for no particular reason and douches that believe they're superior to everyone no matter what they do! My hobbies are training even more, having fun, and hanging out with my friends like Hinata here. My goal is to become the strongest I can be and then even more, never being satisfied. And my dream won't be a dream, because I'll make it a reality no matter what. I'm gonna kill a certain mercenary and destroy the infamous Red Ribbon Army at the same time for what they did, I swore upon it months ago!" The last part created a sense of anger within the Saiyan that was manifested for display on the unconscious summoning of his Ki aura, creating an abrupt force that shook the floor of the restaurant.

 _'Holy shit, what was that?! And why would he plan to destroy the RR army? Eh...'_ Yugao frowned as she remained in pensive thought. _'...I'll probably have a one-on-one conversation with him at some point about some things if I end up becoming his Sensei... Because the Goku that I once knew would NEVER make something as diabolical as that become a goal he's determined on accomplishing.'_

"...Thanks." Yugao replied after shaking herself from her thoughts. She then turned to the final kid. "Now you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru sighed in complaint, giving no response for a few seconds.

"...Troublesome." The boy finally mumbled, giving another sigh. "Name's Nara Shikamaru. I like being with my friends and doing things that don't require much effort. I don't like doing most things and things I find really troublesome. Hobbies are cloud watching, stargazing, playing Shogi, and sleeping. My dream is to become a competent ninja and have a wife that's pretty and have two kids, a daughter and a son. I'll retire when my children become successful shinobi of their own and live the rest of my days playing Shogi and watching clouds until the day I die, hopefully before my wife."

Anko stared at the boy in shock. She stayed in silent thought for a few seconds before her eyes narrowed on him.

"You must be a lazy ass," She declared, a smirk on her face. "I'm going to have to fix that if you end up becoming my student."

Shikamaru, who had expected to get the same thanks that Hinata and Goku got, was shocked by her words. "What?"

"You hate doing things with effort and your dream is one of the most mediocre and average things I've ever heard. And you know what's the easiest way to get you killed in the shinobi? Being what you are at the current moment: a lazy ass."

Goku couldn't help himself from falling over in his seat in laughter. Hinata hardly stifled her giggles, on the verge of going into hysterics. Shikamaru only shrugged his shoulders in response, mumbling something about a 'troublesome sensei'.

"Well, since you all introduced yourselves, it's only fair I do the same. Listen well, because I won't repeat anything," Yugao started. "I'm Uzuki Yugao, an Anbu on hiatus for an unknown amount of time, and hopefully your Sensei. I like dango, tea, traveling, and training/sparring with my boyfriend Hayate. I dislike the 'fangirl' kunoichi who give kunoichi a bad memo. I also hate the cruel ways of the shinobi world. My hobbies include working on my Fuuinjutsu, spending time with my comrades, and once again training my ass off. And my dream... well, I have two actually. First is to make sure I can keep my friends safe and protected. Second is to contribute as much as possible to popular goal of changing the cruelty of the shinobi world.

All three of the genin stared at their Sensei, and they all seemed to have different reactions to the parts in her introduction.

"Well, now that we know each other, let's get straight to the business part." The purple-haired woman broke them out of their thoughts. All three started to pay attention to her again. "Now... in case you haven't payed attention to what I've been saying then know this: you aren't Genin yet."

"What the hell is that s'posed to mean!?" Goku shouted. "We passed the stupid test, so wouldn't that make us Genin already?"

"That _test_ is truly bullshit," She laughed in response. "It's like a pre-test to make sure you guys are good enough to _attempt_ to become Genin. Tomorrow you all have to take another test that has a thirty-three percent passing rate. Fail and get sent back to the academy to try again next year."

Two of the three members of Team Eight had wide eyes at these words. Shikamaru was groaning about the thought of another test, and Hinata was concerned about failing and proving her father and everyone else right about being a failure. Goku however, was confident he'd be able to rise up to the challenge and actually succeed for his team.

As soon as she informed them of the second test, the waiter came back with a plate full of dango. "Food's here, finally," She stated aloud as the plates were being placed onto the table. "After we finish lunch, go home and do whatever needs to be done, and meet me at 7 o'clock sharp!"

The purple-haired woman didn't wait for her students to respond. She immediately started to devour all of the delicious dango on her plate. All three of her genin wondered what could make their sensei so enamored by the food until they tried the dango themselves.

After that, nothing could stop them from chowing down the food on their plates.

 **-The Next Morning At The Training Ground-**

Uzuki Yugao, having never had a Genin team assigned before, based most of her opinions on how they worked from the complaints she heard from her acquaintances. She heard many stories of the 'Genin teams from hell' that arrive ridiculously late to the training sessions and missions. Yugao had heard so many of these stories that she was legitimately surprised that her three students were at the training ground at exactly 7:00.

"Oh, look who's here. You all are on time," Yugao noted happily. "That's good. I was afraid that at least Shikamaru would be showing up late, cause he didn't want to get out of bed this morning, and yet he sure proved me wrong."

Goku stifled up once more before cracking up once more, laughing at the misfortune of his hopefully teammate. Hinata didn't even try and hide her giggles, letting them out on display. Shikamaru merely scowled in response.

"Sensei, are you going to let us know what the test is now?" Hinata asked when she stopped finally stopped giggling.

"Oh? And you all are focused too and don't waste time? I like that," The temporary Jonin declared with a focused look. "So, you all ready for this thing?"

All three kids nodded in response, with Goku being the first one to nod.

"Okay... so basically it's a survival training test. We are going to fight: the three of you against me," Yugao told them.

Goku, Hinata, and Shikamaru all looked at their Sensei with wide eyes for different reasons.

"Basically, I'm going to evaluate your skills and such through combat. We'll continue until I make a decision on whether you guys should pass or not," She told them, cutting off any questions. "To pass, there's only two things you guys have to do. The first thing is impress me, show me that you guys have potential as shinobi. Don't hold back anything and show me what you are capable of. And you all damn well better be coming at me with the intent to kill me, or else you'll be taking a trip back to the academy."

The three graduates nodded in understanding, the Saiyan smirking.

"What's the second requirement?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Great question, the answer is one word: Survive," The temporary Ex-Anbu deadpanned, the woman allowing some killer intent to be released with her words.

Two of the three Genin had wide eyes at the feeling of her killing intent. It felt like nothing they had ever experienced, barring Goku of course. Having experienced the might of Mercenary Tao, whom was classified as Jonin level, the intent didn't make him falter in the slightest. Yugao noticed their reaction and chuckled some.

"Oh come on, this is nothing! The amount of killer intent you feel right now is nowhere near the type you can feel on a battlefield," She said, trying to encourage the graduates to get ready. She took a few seconds trying to compose herself before she spoke again, this time with an even more serious tone. "So, are you all ready to start?"

The students started to focus once again as they each tried to calm themselves down. Goku, to Yugao's surprise, was actually grinning, throwing off his hoodie and wearing his skin tight navy blue T-shirt, showing his body-build, reminding her of a Maito Gai on steroids at his age. "Hell yeah! Let's do this, Anko-Sensei, we're ready."

Hinata and Shikamaru nodded in agreement with his words, having recovered themselves.

"Yeah, enough talking. Let's fight," The Hyuga claimed with a firm voice.

"Good, I'm tired of the suspense." Yugao grinned sadistically in response. She then started doing hand signs, and stopped at the cross seal. "Then let's get this over with. Your true graduation exam starts now, **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

Yugao immediately created a shadow clone, but it was obscured by the smoke. The normal Genin pulled out a kunai and stared attentively, waiting for their Sensei's first move. When the smoke cleared, to their surprise, there were two Yugao's instead of one. The second the clone saw the three genin, it grinned and went into attack mode.

The clone moved faster than Shikamaru could react. It kicked straight into the stomach the Genin, sending him backwards and knocking the breath out of him. "...Damn...that hurt like hell!" The Nara groaned as he pulled himself up.

"...Well what were you expecting? We're going up against an Anbu after all!" Goku said, having jumped backwards with Hinata. He kept his eyes on the approaching clone, wandering the plan of attack.

"We need to be more careful..." Hinata added, waiting in anticipation next to the Saiyan.

The clone, seeing that the kids were fine, unleashed a wave of Shuriken. This time, however, the Genin reacted. Shikamaru and Hinata activated the **Kawarimi** **Jutsu** in time, replacing themselves with nearby logs. Goku hopped up onto the tree where they were then moved further into the surrounding forest around the training ground, creating distance between them and Yugao. Hinata took the time to activate her Byakugan to keep her eyes on the clone.

"The clone is trying to find us at the moment. It'll probably be here in soon, probably in a minute at most..." Hinata noted, still focusing on the clone to see its movements.

"Knowing her, she probably already figured out where we were. Just enough time to set up a trap," Goku stated, unwilling to show his Ki yet before turning to Shikamaru. "Does any of you have some spare explosive tags?"

Shikamaru nodded in response as he pulled out a few tags. The Nara, after a conversation with his parents, realized that explosive tags would be the perfect weapon for him to increase his offense plans. Explosive tags were a strong offensive weapon, but also were a tactical weapon. They could be used in a variety methods as traps or to set enemies into a deeper trap. Shikamaru grew attached to such a weapon and offensive strategy.

Goku was about to speak again about a strategy, but was cut off by his lazy comrade. "I'll setup tags for when the clone comes after our asses. We just need to lead into the trap and then I'll activate the tags. After that, you destroy it with an energy attack."

"Hmph, It'll do." Goku grumbled, not wanting to unveil his capabilities.

"It'll work. Good thinking Shikamaru," Hinata informed her friend. "We should get them set up quickly. The clone seems to have found our current location. It's heading in our direction right now."

Hinata's words caused Shikamaru to become completely focused. He sprung up quickly and immediately started scanning the surrounding area for the most opportune places to place his tags. He was able to set up four tags up in trees before he was interrupted by Hinata.

"It's here. It'll be out in the open in a second," Hinata shouted to her friend as she readied a kunai.

Shikamaru immediately took out a kunai and waited in quiet as he waited for the first sign of movement from the clone. The clone soon pulled into the area, hissing. As soon as it arrived, Goku jumped down and prepared to beat the hell out of the Yugao doppelganger. Hinata jumped down from her place up in the trees to join Goku in their combined onslaught.

The clone didn't waste a second to attack the Saiyan and the Hyuga. It moved forward proceeded around all of the trees in it's wake, sword drawn. Goku rushed over to the clone and grabbed it, locking it into a full-nelson, gripping it tightly regardless of how tough it was making it out to be.

Hinata then started to toss kunai from their position, attacking from a distance. The shadow clone surprisingly took a few hits before it was able to squirm away from the Saiyan and start approaching the Genin, sword drawn once again, and Hinata jumped out of the way in time. The clone proceeded to turn around to find its enemies once again only to be assaulted by Goku. Receiving a harsh kick to the face, the clone relapsed in the air, still not being dispelled yet. Hinata then joined Goku, trying to push the clone further back towards the tree through her palm strikes while the Saiyan whom was piling on damage with his bare-hands, showcasing his sheer strength.

Yugao's clone was pushed back from the assault, very close to a marked tree. It growled angrily as it swung its sword forward, intent on hitting the attackers. The sudden action from the clone made them stagger back and the clone capitalized with two harsh kicks. Both of the attacks sent Goku and Hinata flying back into the air. And yet, despite the minor pain, they couldn't help but give off a smile.

"It's close enough, now Shikamaru!" She shouted, the adrenaline of the fight causing her to speak louder than usual.

Shikamaru didn't need the reminder, but followed it anyway. He activated the exploding tag that was on the tree where the clone was at. The explosion occurred, the strong force of it sending the clone flying into another tree. Shikamaru noticed where it landed and couldn't hide a smug smirk as he activated the exploding tag on that tree's branches. When activated, the explosion knocked off the branches, which hit the clone hard on its head. It hissed in pain as it tried to get up once more.

Goku, seeing a prime opportunity to end the fight, decided to show off and shoot an unstable, destructive cannon-sized Ki orb at the clone that was struggling to get up to keep fighting. The clone screamed in pain as the unruly sphere made direct contact with its body, and it exploded upon it, effectively killing the enhanced version of the Shadow Clone technique via the puff of smoke.

"Hell yeah, what's next?!" Goku said with a confident smirk.

Hinata couldn't help but smile, feeling a little accomplished from the fight. She pulled herself up from the ground and walked over to the grinning Goku. Shikamaru moved around to the other areas of the forest to collect the unused exploding tags before he jumped to meet his friends.

"Not bad gaki's. That clone was using nowhere near my full-power, though. Still, for a couple of academy graduates, that was something pretty impressive." The three turned over to the direction of the voice and saw Yugao sitting on a tree branch with her arms crossed. She seemed very relaxed and calm, as if she was just watching a show.

"How long have you been there Yugao-sensei? And shouldn't you be testing us yourself?!" Goku shouted to her.

"I've been here the whole time, and I am testing you! If you couldn't tell, that clone was simply the first part of it as you were meant to fight it as part of the test," Yugao fired back, jumping off of the branch and standing up, ready to continue the test.

"So do we pass then?" The boy asked in confusion, the truth was he hadn't done much.

"Not yet. You think that'd be enough to impress me?" The Anbu/Jonin scoffed.

A vein grew on his forehead as well as a grin as he pumped his Ki. "I'd expect nothing less from an Anbu, but you're about to be impressed, count on it."

Shikamaru, noticing the verbal bout between Goku and his Sensei, launched a kunai at the woman. He had expected his Sensei to block the kunai or dodge it. What he did not expect was her to take the hit. The kunai landed directly in her head and Yugao fell to the ground lifelessly... before disappearing in smoke and being replaced with a log.

"...Damnit, the **Kawarimi Jutsu**!" Shikamaru observed as he started to scan the nearby area.

"Guys," Hinata said in surprise, her Byakugan reactivated. "She's here!"

"Where?" Shikamaru asked frantically, getting even more prepared for an attack.

Hinata gave no verbal response. She only tossed a kunai in the direction opposite of where Goku was facing. Her kunai blocked a shuriken coming from that direction.

"Does that answer your question?" Yugao asked in a sarcastic tone as she started to appear into sight. She was charging at the kids, making hand signs. When she finished, she slammed her palms smack dab onto the ground. " **Fuubaku Houjin**!"

Explosions that came from underneath the ground were sent forward towards the academy graduates, startling all three of them. Before they had time to react, one of the explosions impacted Shikamaru and it sent him flying towards the Jonin-sensei.

"Shikamaru!" Hinata shouted in surprise as she immediately started to run after him, Goku following closely behind.

The Nara gasped in pain at the force of the explosion as he was being sent towards his Sensei. As he approached her, Yugao then roundhouse kicked him in the side, sending him straight into a nearby tree. She then charged at the boy with great speed, slamming her fist straight into his stomach. He groaned in pain and barely registered the fact that she pulled out a kunai. Yugao then made a small cut on his cheek to prove a point.

"Give any enemy shinobi worth their salt even the smallest of opportunities and they'll have you in their mercy," Yugao informed the boy as she released another wave of killing intent to show her point. "So, how do you face this situation, Shikamaru?"

"He won't be facing the situation alone," Hinata stated firmly.

Yugao turned around at the sound of the noise and was met with the Hyuga heiress's assault. The Anbu fended off the girl's attacks, making sure that the girl wasn't hitting any of her tenketsu. After awhile, the temporary Jonin turned the tables on the girl, focusing on attacking back. The girl struggled to block the older woman's stronger blows and received many direct hits from her Sensei.

"I admire the fact that you rushed into save your ally, but that doesn't always cut it in the real world. You need to see the bigger picture in a real life or death situation, depending on the circumstances and the severity of said mission," Yugao informed the girl sharply as she dealt a punch to the girl's face. Hinata fell down in pain and immediately got up, breathing faster than normal. "And if you are going charge in bluntly, make sure you have a plan in mind. If you don't be more careful, it's a great possibility that you'll end up KIA."

"I did come in...with a plan, Sensei." Hinata mumbled out in between her breaths. "You...you should be more careful yourself..."

Yugao was about to respond but was cut off when she lost all feeling in her body. She couldn't move any muscle. Suddenly, she felt her head turning and saw Shikamaru standing behind her.

"Hey Sensei," He replied lazily. Despite the fact that his head was turned so that she could see him, Yugao knew the boy had a smug grin on his face.

"A very clever tactic, I didn't expect that to happen. I wasn't really expecting you to actually try and trap me in your shadow while she was attacking me. Didn't know you would make the effort," Yugao admitted, slightly teasing the boy in her praise. "However, you do know that I have enough chakra that I can easily break from your control, right? Your chakra reserves aren't large enough to hold me back."

"I'm aware. However, I didn't really intend on trapping you for too long. Only to stall you," Shikamaru told her, his grin still on his face.

 _'Stall? For what?'_ Yugao thought in confusion.

"Stalling for this!" Hinata shouted, preparing to shoot her flame ball at their wide-eyed sensei. " **Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu**!"

She immediately broke the boy's hold on her through overpowering it with her chakra, and used the **Shunshin** to make it out of harms way just in time. She was about to start preparing for a counterattack, but she was too late. Goku immediately pounced on her. He slammed her body down hard to the ground and delivered a punch to the face before he held up his open palm, charging cerulean Ki within it.

"Give any enemy shinobi worth their salt even the smallest of opportunities and they'll have you in their mercy. Isn't that right Sensei?" Goku asked her, taunting her with the words she used on Shikamaru.

 _'So, the two others were really just distracting me so that Goku could recover and actually land a damn good hit on me. Not too shabby; they actually work well together and could do some serious damage if trained more.'_ Yugao noted, actually impressed.

"That's right Goku. However, I did ask Shikamaru how would he respond to that situation, didn't I? Well, this is how I would," She replied before disappearing in a poof of smoke, replaced by a log in her place.

"Heh, I figured as much," Goku said with a smirk. He then turned to Shikamaru, who was grinning in response back as he made a hand-sign.

Yugao was then sitting in a nearby tree branch after she used the **Kawarimi Jutsu**. She was watching the three gaki's, wondering exactly what they were doing.

 _'Why are they just standing still? Shouldn't they be trying to prepare for an attack or maybe hunting me down? Its like they've already planned something,'_ Yugao thought in confusion, still watching her student hopefuls.

She was finally about to give up wondering and just charge at them when she noticed Shikamaru make a hand sign. All of a sudden, she noticed a noise coming from her coat's pocket. She reached in and pulled a kunai out: a kunai with an explosive tag on it. The explosive tag was in the process of activating.

 _'Damn, they got me again. When Goku was recovering while Hinata attacked me, he must have gotten an explosive tag from the Lazy Ass. He then put it on a kunai and he slipped it into my pocket when he had me pinned onto the ground. A truly clever tactic and well thought out strategy...'_ Yugao thought, impressed.

The explosive tag went off, creating a large explosion in its place. Yugao managed to get away, but took some damage on the right side of her body whilst escaping.

 _'That's another 'hit' they inflicted upon me. I may not be giving anywhere near my full strength at all on them, but that's still impressive for a few graduates. Even when going casually easy, I should still be too much of a match for most graduates...'_ Yugao noted. _'...I will pass them...but first, I'll wait until after I gauge Goku's true power. It's been an enigma to find out all of these years, and now I get the chance...'_

The temporary Jonin soon reappeared in front of the three kids. Shikamaru and Hinata were the tired, having taken the most hits. Still, all three were notably happy and curious about their standing.

"So Sensei, did we impress you enough? Or do you want us to keep coming?!" Goku asked, a smirk still on his face.

"Is that a challenge? Believe me, I haven't even done a fraction of what I can do," Yugao replied uncharacteristically cocky, trying to rile up the graduate even more.

"Bring it on then!" The black-haired kid responded as he tried to provoke his Sensei too. "I wanna test myself on a person who can handle it."

"Brace yourself!" Goku stated, unleashing his Ki in a swift burst, surprising the Jonin in her wake. He ran towards her at a speed no one had yet seen from him, and then he vanished right in front of her face.

"What the hell?" Yugao thought aloud, not believing he was really an Academy student with that speed. She then heard his steps just seconds from contact. Turning swiftly and launching her foot as swiftly as possible, she hit him, or so she thought. That person turned out to be a transparent Afterimage, shocking the Anbu even more, yet bringing a smile to her face.

' _Now afterimages too?! What kind of training did he go through all this time?_ ' Yugao thought, tensing up in preparation for a surprise attack. What startled her next was the Saiyan coming up right behind her, ready to pounce.

Using her instincts, she lashed out, striking the Saiyan and actually connecting, "Gotcha." However, as soon as her blow hit the Saiyan, Goku immediately shrugged off the quick jab and blitzed his sensei, catching her off guard by the smooth recovery.

"Peekaboo!"Goku shouted from above her, kicking her straight in the breasts, knocking the wind out of her successfully. He then rolled multiple times in midair until he landed on the ground softly, turning to look at his Sensei.

"You okay?" He asked, wanting to know if she wanted to continue.

"Of course I am, I've been through much worse," said the smiling Jonin, shrugging off the pain and the shock that literally littered her face. "I was surprised by your capabilities, that's all. I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Great to hear!" The Saiyan responded, cupping his hands to the right side of his body, charging the infamous Turtle Destruction Wave. "Take this, **KamehameHAAAA**!" He launched both of his arms forward, the plume of cerulean ki heading towards his Sensei, whom had more surprise written on her face.

The two genin in the area looked at Goku in bewilderment, wondering what else he could do. He was probably, no _definitely_ , the most powerful person they had ever seen from anyone at their age. His strength and speed were off the charts, his Taijutsu skills were amazing, and he had the tenacity and willpower to make them all even better. His Ki seemed to be doing wonders for him compared to Chakra for some of the others.

Knowing that the blast was coming at her much too fast for her to do anything, she weaved through hand-signs in an attempt to evade it. Seeing this, the Saiyan added a huge influx of energy into his attack, detonating it right before she had moved, creating a decent shock-wave. This threw the woman off-guard, not only catching her feet but also sending her reeling for a few dozen feet, tumbling along the ground. The blast area was left as a solid meter-sized crater, with nothing left in the area for quite a few dozen feet in diameter.

Smirking whilst breathing hard, the Saiyan stood up with his hands on the back of his head, tired from the usage of the **Kamehameha Wave**. When the smoke dissolved, he could see her down for the count. Running to check over her in concern, he shook her dead body, only for it to pop into smoke. Barely able to react in time, he was pressed down upon by his Sensei.

Seeing her with a kunai in hand, he tried to evade each strike but the pressure and tenacity of the woman halted him. He then grabbed the kunai, but once it was charged with Fuuinjutsu chakra, he released in a heartbeat from the voltage and backed away, having been cut in the arm by the kunai.

Shrieking in pain, he tried to shake off the electricity coursing through him, but it only hurt worse, even cauterizing the blood on his left arm. However, Goku didn't give into the circumstances. Ever. Charging his Ki from the inside, he unleashed it in one explosive Kiai wave, blowing everything back a good ten feet away from him and ridding himself of the electricity. His light blue aura stayed around him however, and he panted even more from the exertion of Ki.

" **Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu**!" Yugao shouted after weaving through hand-signs, sucking in air before exhaling a large flame going straight for the Saiyan. The heat didn't even bother his body due to his anatomy and Saiyan genetic structure, so he managed to push against the flame with Kiai wave, clashing against the very commonly know jutsu with pure force. He knew he wasn't powerful enough to completely snuff out that jutsu _yet_ , so he making the flame roar more wildly while making it spread out, giving him enough time to escape the premises.

However, as soon as Goku ran away from the wake of the flame, he found himself bombarded with deadly projectiles. His instincts were heavily relied upon and he kept on grabbing them out of midair, flinging them away rapidly. He then threw one back at her, but she used the **Kawarimi** to not only escape but get a better position.

He turned to his left and saw two Yugao's coming towards her in a two-man weave pattern. Ultimately confusing Goku, he sent a Kiai wave at one of them. Though he initially hit the real one, she used **Kawarimi** on the other one so fast that Goku didn't even notice it. Then the **Kage Bunshin** exploded in smoke, blinding the Saiyan temporarily. Then came Yugao's fist crashing into his face, making him stagger back greatly.

Finally, the woman slammed Goku onto a boulder and held a kunai to his throat, ready to slice. "Look's like I win Goku, even though you have all of those incredible capabilities. What would you do in this situation?"

The Saiyan then smirked, confusing his Sensei. "Nothing...except this!" He added, elbowing the boulder behind him and turning it into millions of fragments, flipping out of the predicament unscathed. This also caused his Sensei to smile and unleash her semi-full killing intent, which made the other two Genin falter slightly. However, the Saiyan stood strong, having been in the presence of a stone-cold murderer, that heartless bastard. She then relented her killing intent, noting that the Saiyan had a firm resolve and it wouldn't work, meaning that something bad must have taken place in his endeavors.

"Not that I care if you two want to fight again, but can you tell us how we did now Sensei?" Shikamaru replied lazily with a yawn, after seeing the spectacle that was the fight between Goku and Yugao.

Yugao sighed, knowing she couldn't enjoy her fight with Goku any longer. "Fine. You all did impress me, especially Goku over there. Much more than I initially expected, which deems you all the official Team Eight."

"Hell yeah!" Goku shouted. He seemed to momentarily forget any exhaustion or injuries from his fight and started to bang his right arm against his thumping chest. "We're genin, and we're a team now, and that's all that matters."

"You better damn well believe that you are!" The purple-haired ninja stated. "You're my team now, so prepare yourselves. All three of you guys have a ludicrous amount of potential, and I'm going to take advantage of it. I aim to make you all into the greatest shinobi squad to ever come from this village."

 _'That also means I'll be training you guys to the brim, especially you Lazy Ass,'_ Yugao chuckled inwardly, starting to plan the arduous training already.

Yugao's words only made Goku even more in excited. Her words also added some mood to his two teammates. Shikamaru had a pleased, happy smile on his face whilst Hinata seemed just as excited as her Saiyan friend, only she wasn't outwardly acting on it.

 _'So it's official, and nothing can change it. We're all genin, and now it's time for me to prove to the world that I'm NOT a failure!'_ Hinata cheered inwardly, her 'inner-self' doing back-flips and jumping up and just as excited as Goku was at the current moment.

Yugao couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at the now Genin. "Just letting you guys know, you're dismissed for the day. We'll meet up here at 7:30 sharp tomorrow morning and we will do that everyday unless I say otherwise. So now, you guys are free to do as you please. Oh, and be prepared to work your ass off, this shall prove to be very grueling, especially to you, Shikamaru."

Goku clapped his hands, ready for anything. "I grind my ass off twenty-four/seven anyways, so I'm ready to get even more training in, let's go!"

 **-With Team Seven-**

Naruto grumbled as he walked up to Sasuke, whom was stretching and seemed to be thinking, and Sakura, who was, as usual, fawning over said Uchiha.

"So, Sasuke-kun, wanna go out on a date, you know since Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-baka are real late?"

"Hn," Was the immediate response.

"Of course I'd be late, after all, Kakashi-sensei is two hours late to everything, which you two apparently forgot," Naruto said as he walked up to his teammates, making the Uchiha sigh in slight annoyance.

"Tch, I just had nothing better to with my life," Sasuke stated bluntly, stretching his legs.

"Sure teme, whatever helps you sleep at night," Naruto teased. The Uchiha didn't regard it in the slightest, ignoring him whilst cracking his knuckles. However, he didn't need to say anything because his fan-girl came to the rescue.

"Don't insult Sasuke-kun, Naruto-baka!"

Naruto looked at Sakura with sadness and nodded and just walked away towards another tree.

' _Damn it Sakura. She doesn't realize the dobe and I do this all the damn time. Still, I need to plan on how to beat Kakashi,_ ' Sasuke thought as he closed his eyes and continued to be in deep thought. His thoughts were interrupted however as Kakashi appeared in front of them all with an eye smile.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura screeched.

"Sorry, but a black cat crossed my path so I decided to take the long way around. Anyways, you are all here, meaning we don't have to wait on anyone-" Kakashi paused, expecting an outburst. None came, surprisingly. "-So, we will begin your survival test now."

"Survival test," Sakura repeated. "We took those in the academy."

"Not to the same degree I will be giving you," Kakashi said, an edge in his voice. "You see, the academy was just to figure out which students had the potential to be ninja. However, this is the test to see those who actually deserve to be ninja. Each jonin has their own right to choose how they desire to test their potential genin and I have chosen the survival test. Basically all you have to do is get these two bells from me," Kakashi said, pointing to the bells attached to his waist.

"Doesn't seem too hard," Sakura said.

"He's an S-ranked jonin Sakura-chan, and arguably the strongest shinobi in village right under Jiji," Naruto stated.

"Okay Naruto-baka!"

Kakashi sighed. "Enough! The point is, I will be defending these bells, and your objective is to get them. You have my permission to do anything necessary to get the bells, including lethal force. You have six hours. I hope you make use of those hours. You must have a bell to pass this test. If you do not you will be tied to those wooden stumps and have failed the test. Oh, and you won't succeed if you don't come with intent to kill. Now, before we begin, any questions?"

"Wait, sensei, there are only two bells, which means at least one of us will fail." Sakura said.

Kakashi nodded. "Correct Sakura, anything else?"

Sakura looked surprised. "Did you forget one while leaving your house?"

"No."

"But-"

"Sakura, he means we're also enemies in this test," Sasuke said, quite annoyed with the entire explaining thing. He just wanted to start, to test his power against an S-class shinobi, to test himself and see how far he is from reaching Itachi's level. He knew that Kakashi was his ticket to power, and he would be damned if he didn't take advantage of it.

"What's the percentage of passing this test," Naruto asked, curious as it seemed as people had taken this test before.

"Thirty-three percent at the most, of passing."

' _The odds are that highly stacked against our favor?_ ' Sakura thought, worried about being separated from her 'Sasuke-kun'.

' _Just like I thought_ ,' Naruto thought. ' _It won't stop me though, I'm gonna become Hokage one day, and it starts here!_ '

"Last question. Why did you tell us not to eat?" Sakura asked. Kakashi eye-smiled, one that made Naruto proud. After all, it was the prankster type gleam in his pupil. "So it would be more difficult for you, you won't always be in top condition during missions."

Everyone was then silent for a moment, officially ending the questioning session and letting wind pass over there heads, swaying there hair into the wind.

"Well then, if there are no more questions, begin!"

The three students disappeared.

 **-With Kakashi-  
**

"Well, at least they've got the hiding part of a ninja down," Kakashi said as he walked around the training ground, a nonchalant emotion expressed through his eyes. While he knew where they were hiding, to your average genin they would be invisible. Kakashi sighed. He had to draw them out somehow. The question was how. He could just reveal that he knew where they were, but that would be no fun. After all it would basically be rubbing the fact that he was better than them in every way, shape, and form in their face. While he was unmerciful in the world outside of Konoha, he did not like to crush people's spirits, especially if they were from his village anyway.

His thoughts were interrupted as three shuriken sprang from Naruto's location.

' _Ever the impatient one_ ," Kakashi thought. ' _I'll show off a bit of what I can do_.' Kakashi dodged the kunai all while digging into his supply pouch. From it he drew…a book. It was one of his smut novels, the Icha-Icha series written by the 'Gallant Jiraiya'.

Naruto's eye twitched as he saw the book. ' _Is he mocking me!? If so I'll kick his ass!_ ' The Uzumaki growled as he formed the familiar cross handsign. " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" He roared.

Fifteen clones sprang to life around him. Naruto then pointed to three locations and told his clones to spread out in groups of five to those specific locations. Naruto himself however, went to a different location. He went towards Kakashi.

"Fooish Naruto," Kakashi said as Naruto charged him, kunai in hand.

The blonde just smiled and drew smoke pellets from his kunai pouch. He threw them at Kakashi who jumped away, although now there was a large purple cloud of smoke concealing the other from view. Naruto used this to wrap an explosive tag around his kunai. He then drew another kunai, without an explosive tag wrapped around it, and threw them both at Kakashi, or at least where he saw him land.

Kakashi was indeed in the same place, and when he saw the two kunai come flying through the smoke cloud he frowned. He would have expected something stealthier from Naruto. Then again, he still remembered somewhere Naruto's clones were around, plotting his demise.

Kakashi dodged the kunai, noticing the explosive tag on the first one almost too late. He barely finished the hand-seals for the **Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu** before the explosive tag lit and exploded.

As the smoke created by the explosion cleared Naruto saw no trace of Kakashi, just a small crater and rocks blown everywhere.

"Where is he," Naruto pondered as he looked around. However, his question was soon answered as his ankle was grabbed. Naruto looked down at the hand, to see part of Kakashi's arm and his hand sticking out of the ground, wrapped around Naruto's ankle.

"Damnit," Naruto mumbled.

"Language Naruto," he barely heard Kakashi say before he was dragged underground. As Kakashi popped out from underground he looked at Naruto, whose head was the only thing visible, as the rest of his body was trapped underground.

"One down," Kakashi said and walked away.

As Kakashi slipped into nearby bushes, Naruto smirked in a prankster like-manner and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

 **-With Sakura-**

' _Look at Naruto, thinking he's so cool. He got defeated by Kakashi-sensei like he was nothing. Sasuke-kun would obviously destroy Naruto in a real fight_.' Sakura thought. She stood and began to search around for Sasuke, determined to find the so-called love of her life and partner up with him to take down Kakashi. However, what she found was not what she was expecting.

"S-Sakura, help m-me," said a wounded Sasuke. There were senbon, kunai, and shuriken sticking out of him at all angles, and he was bleeding profusely with one black eye that was swollen shut. Needless to say, it was a brutal sight to perceive.

"S-S-Sasuke-kun," Sakura stuttered out, horrified at the sight.

"S-S-Sakura."

Sakura screamed and fainted.

Kakashi canceled the genjutsu and walked over to Sakura, disappointment written all over his face. ' _Maybe I should have chosen Ino or Hinata instead_.' He thought, as he looked at her. ' _That was one of the most basic of genjutsu. To be caught in something like that, even though she is just a genin, it's ridiculous. Her low reserves allow her to be a genjutsu mistress, but without being able to detect it she would just be a liability. I need to work with her on that, if they pass_.'

As Kakashi took off into the trees to look for Sasuke he thought on it. ' _These guys were called the ideal team by all, but they don't work together at all. They're horrid at it. The only two I think could work together are Sasuke and Naruto, and that's if you get rid of their intense rivalry. They're exactly like me and Obito were. This is gonna be troublesome indeed. I don't wanna have to fail sensei's kid, but I will if necessary_.'

Kakashi landed on the ground as five shuriken flew by and into him, causing him to tip over. As Kakashi hit the ground he transformed into wooden logs revealing he had used the **Kawarimi**.

Sasuke cursed, sprinting away at full speed, sending chakra blasts into his feet to go faster. His attack had failed, Kakashi had avoided it and now knew where he was, and was no doubt chasing after him. Sasuke cursed as once he appeared through a clearing he was hit with a punch to his side, sending him sprawling away and into an even more visible area.

The Uchiha stood to see Kakashi rushing towards him, boredom in his eyes.

"I see you don't think I'll be a challenge. Don't you ever underestimate me!" Sasuke roared as he charged. He drew a kunai attempting to slash Kakashi, however the man jumped over the strike and lashed out with a dual kick to the head, slamming Sasuke's head onto the ground.

' _Maybe that was a bit to rough_.' Then the Uchiha rolled next to him and jumped away from his sensei, his **Sharingan** now being activated.

"That's it," The Uchiha stated, flowing through his rivals signature Jutsu. "Try this, **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." This caught the Hatake off-guard a bit, not expecting Sasuke to be able to pull that off with his chakra reserves. Two Sasuke's were standing next to the original after the smoke cleared, and the Uchiha realized that the technique used up a decent amount of chakra already.

The three Sasuke's then charged their sensei, one of the **Bunshin** unleashing a **Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu** , a flurry of fire balls launching to the area surrounding Kakashi. He evaded them all of course, but this worked in the Uchiha's favor. The clone used the **Kawarimi** to transition to the area left of Kakashi by ten meters behind two trees.

The other two Uchiha launched a few shuriken, with the real one launching a kunai that had an explosive tag on it in the mix. The sensei, noticing it within the mix, used the **Kawarimi** again to the same spot of Sasuke's third clone.

This made Sasuke smirk again, as his **Bunshin** slapped the rest of his explosive tags on himself. He also used the **Kawarimi** to get to where Kakashi and the other clone happened to be, while the real one made a back-flip, his Sharingan alert. He made one simple hand sign, and a large explosion took place in the area of the two clones. Creating a large cloud of smoke in the process, he expected to see his Sensei at least somewhat hurt afterwards.

However, he caught from the corner of his eye his Sensei blazing towards his left side. Quickly raising a Kunai, he hardly parried Kakashi's head-on attack, the brute force making him stagger. Sparks flew as the two clashed, an incomplete pair of Sharingan meeting one eye of an experienced shinobi.

Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere, he ducked, letting his sensei's momentum go over top of him. He quickly made one more **Kage Bunshin** and ran at his Sensei, jumping on him in less than two seconds. The Hatake parried the clones side-kick and then tossed him hard onto the ground, creating smoke. Distracting him for a split-second, the Uchiha nailed him in the face with a Raiton-fisted punch. It sent his Sensei back a few feet, but he wasn't expecting for him to recover so quickly and pile-drive him into the ground without mercy.

As Sasuke shakily stood Naruto appeared, flying through hand-seals and racing towards Kakashi. " **Fuinjutsu: Mahi Shiru**."

Kakashi smirked and dodged the jutsu, slamming his knee into Naruto's gut. As Naruto held his stomach Kakashi slammed his elbow into Naruto's head before kicking him in the chest. Naruto was sent sprawling as Sasuke stood and charged Kakashi. Kakashi jogged backwards, fending off Sasuke's attacks before Naruto quickly joined Sasuke in his barrage, although Kakashi still blocked both of their strikes with ease.

Naruto jumped in midair, making hand signs. "Take this, **Futon: Daitoppa**!"

Naruto belched out a large gust of wind; however the attack hit Sasuke instead, blowing the Uchiha back ten feet, as Kakashi swung him into the attack. Sasuke growled at Naruto who waved his hands in apology.

"Sorry."

"What the hell-"

"Um, this is pathetic," Kakashi said to himself, somewhat disappointed. Sasuke forgot all about Naruto at that moment, continuing his assault on Kakashi. However Naruto didn't join Sasuke at that point, preferring to make a plan that included out the box thinking.

' _He's stronger, faster, and more experienced than we are, not to mention way smarter. We're all around beaten by him. There's no way we can win this fight. But we have to. I refuse to lose like this_.'

Naruto threw some shuriken before making the cross hand-seal. " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

Four clones appeared next to Naruto, and they proceeded to charge. The original charged behind them in a zigzag pattern. Kakashi groaned as he was grabbed by a Naruto clone from behind. Sasuke smirked at that, and launched a swift punch at Kakashi; however Kakashi switched places with a clone that was charging, causing that clone to disappear. Kakashi than launched three shuriken at the other three clones that had changed trajectory, easily killing them before kicking Naruto in the chin, launching him back.

Kakashi then jumped over a sweeping kick from Sasuke and landed behind him, kicking him from behind into a tree. The two remaining clones charged Kakashi. However, he took them down quickly before turning around. As he did so he noticed Naruto had disappeared and Sasuke was charging him. Kakashi was about to charge back but decided to wait on Sasuke. Kakashi sweat-dropped as Sasuke came in with a direct punch in hand.

' _Foolish, what a Naruto-like maneuver_.'

However, as soon as Kakashi caught the punch Sasuke twisted trying to flip the man over to get the bells. It would have worked, had Kakashi not have as much experience as he did. As Sasuke flipped him he grabbed Sasuke's other arm and threw Sasuke, turning himself upright in midair, stopping him from completely grasping the bells. As Kakashi landed on his feet, Sasuke landed on his head, spinning around on the ground.

The Uchiha growled and stood preparing to reengage Kakashi. However, as fifteen shadow clones of Naruto, five from each location Naruto had sent them to earlier, appeared boxing Kakashi in a triangle shape, Naruto came swooped in and dragged Sasuke, sprinting away before the Uchiha did anything reckless.

"Let go of me dobe," Sasuke hissed. Naruto complied, putting the Uchiha down. However, Sasuke noticed that an unconscious Sakura was also here. They were at a large tree in the center of the training grounds.

"Why did you do that?" Sasuke asked, his two-tomoed Sharingan's spinning.

Naruto looked at Sasuke with an incredulous look. "You really thought you could take him?"

"No, but I had to try. Besides, I did better than you did."

"I wasn't going all out."

"Neither was I, so what's your point?"

Naruto just groaned and rubbed his forehead, a frown on his face. "Look teme, Kakashi-sensei is an S-ranked jonin; he won't be defeated by three genin, no matter how skilled they may be. Even if they were more skilled, his experience more than makes up for it, and he hasn't reached the age when even experience can't help you. Face it, Kakashi is waaaay to good for us to beat, even if we combined our efforts."

"What are you getting at then?" Sasuke asked, now a bit intrigued.

"While it may be true that we can't beat him, even if you, Sakura, and I worked together, we have a better chance of beating him if we do work together. Therefore, I request a truce, at least until we get the bells."

"Hmph. I see no point in this if what we were doing wasn't working earlier, Sakura can't do anything."

Naruto growled. "Sasuke, are you an idiot!? All teammates are a factor, even Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke growled and slammed his foot on the ground. "It doesn't matter if we can't win anyways, we just need to keep trying!"

"As much as I hate to say it, Naruto's right Sasuke-kun. Our best bet is to team up."

Sasuke growled and looked away, grumbling a begrudged, "Fine."

"Well that was entertaining."

The three candidates looked upwards to see Kakashi standing on a nearby tree. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Naruto said, and he threw three shuriken at Kakashi. Kakashi dodged the shuriken; however Sasuke jumped up towards him, engaging in a midair spar. Obviously Kakashi won, even if the Uchiha used his Dojutsu, throwing Sasuke to the ground. However, Naruto quickly made a clone that cushioned his fall before throwing even more weapons at Kakashi. The Hatake weaved through the hail of weapons, before he heard something whistling. He turned to see even more weapons coming at him, courtesy of Sakura. He groaned and jumped over them, avoiding the attack. Kakashi landed nearby.

"Now teme!"

"Right!"

Naruto and Sasuke weaved through hand-seals, preparing to unleash fury onto Kakashi.

' _Impossible, they can't do a Jutsu in sync can they!?_ '

" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**!"

" **Futon: Shinkugyoku no Jutsu**!"

The Katon and Futon jutsu combined to create many literal inferno-bullets, capable of going straight through ten men with just one of them.

"A collaboration jutsu!" Kakashi roared, quickly making hand-seals.

Sakura smiled at Sasuke's and Naruto's work before throwing more weapons at Kakashi. She wouldn't let him get away, even if the heat was very harsh.

As the jutsu ended and Kakashi was nowhere to be seen for a minute, Sasuke and Naruto began to think that they had disintegrated him, only to be pinned to the ground a moment later with a kunai at each of their necks, both buzzing with Raiton chakra.

"Sakura, give me all the information you know on your parents or I will kill the Sasuke and Naruto."

Sakura stood their frozen. She had no idea what to do. How could she? She had the choice of either betraying her village or letting two people die. It was an impossible choice in her honest opinion. Kakashi got off of Naruto and Sasuke soon after seeing her facial expression, allowing them to stretch and prepare to attack again.

"Calm down, the test is over."

Naruto stood up, and looked at the sun, realizing that according to the sun the test was indeed over.

"We failed."

"No you didn't."

Naruto looked at Kakashi curiously. "But we didn't get the bells."

"You didn't have to get the bells to pass. Allow me to explain. This test is not meant to see if you can get the bells, in fact, none of you have the ability to get the bells as you are now. This test was meant to see if you had the potential to work together."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"This test was to see if you three could work together to defeat an adversary. It was about teamwork. The core to any ninja squad is teamwork, meaning if you don't have that you will die, early on in your mission. However, if you do, an A-rank mission can be as easy as a B-rank or even C-rank mission. Teamwork is key to any shinobi squad. I wouldn't go as far to say as it's more important than your own individual skills, but it is very important. You all have individual skills. Naruto is decent at Fuuinjutsu and great at Ninjutsu, Sasuke is also great with Ninjutsu and is good at Taijutsu, while Sakura has amazing analytical skills, has potential in the genjutsu and medical fields, and is great at making up strategies. If you combined this you would be an ideal fearsome team, the best out of your genin class. However, if you have no teamwork, any A-ranked or up shinobi could easily dispatch of you."

"Okay, but what about the thing you just did to Sakura-chan," Naruto asked.

Kakashi smiled. "That was my final test. In the ninja world you may run into situations like that, when you either must betray your village or leave your allies to die. I realize that it's a tough decision and there is no right answer, but remember this: In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

Naruto nodded, fully accepting the words. Sasuke just gave his usual, "Hn," and Sakura nodded.

"Good. Now that you get that, let's get going. Our first training session and mission is tomorrow, be here at 8 o'clock sharp."

* * *

 **A/N:** _I gave Yugao a few abilities that were never showcased in the canon, but I have a good reason for all of them. First off, Yugao was stated to not be a scrub when it came to Fuuinjutsu, and actually excel at it. Two, the enhanced Kage Bunshin thing may have been a bit of a stretch, but I felt she needed something else other than Kenjutsu and Fuuinjutsu up her sleeve. It's also proven to actually be possible courtesy of the Sandaime, in which his clones are capable of surviving through serious injury, which Yugao's clones are no where near that level. And Third, the Great Fireball technique is something customary and common to the Konoha shinobi forces, so it wouldn't be a stretch for an Anbu to know it. That's all I have to say, have a great day._


	11. Being A Genin

_Chapter 11: Being A Genin  
_

* * *

 **-With Goku The Next Day-**

Goku was grinning as he sprinted down the streets towards Training Ground Seventeen as a blur. Today was his first day of genuine training in half a year. Today would also be the day of his first mission. The preteen truly felt like he was ready to take on the world and he was happy about it.

 _'This is it...this is where my journey to avenging Upa's family begins!'_ He mentally declared to himself as he left the houses of Konoha and was reaching the outer areas where the training grounds were.

It didn't take long for the Saiyan to find the training grounds. The boy was cutting it close on time, however, which explained why his other two teammates and his sensei were already present.

"Last one here? I expected more from you Goku," Yugao said to the boy.

Goku's eyes narrowed at her, a grin on his face. "Whatever Yugao-Sensei, I'm on time regardless."

"Lighten up some. It was just a joke, you take things a bit too seriously." The woman laughed in response.

Goku didn't say anything in response. He only slightly frowned as he made his way over to his two friends. He greeted both of them with a high five before he turned back to his Sensei. It was at this time that Goku noticed that the woman had a large, plain brown bag that she was carrying on her back.

"Well, we're all here, why not start now?" He asked, "More time for training I guess."

"Why not, we're only a few minutes ahead of schedule anyway." The Anbu/Jonin shrugged before beginning her explanation. "Okay, just giving you all a heads up: this is how our daily schedules will function until I say otherwise. We start each day with a warm-up, which could take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour, depending on what I want, for it we'll most likely be working on physical attributes. After that, then I'll work on some group training work. This may include teamwork, chakra control, jutsus', weapons, etc. Really anything you all can be trained on as a team. Finally, after that, I'll make two **Kage Bunshin** and then I, or my clones, will work directly one-on-one with each of you on specialized training. When that's all done, we'll go to the Hokage's tower and see if there are any missions available. Is all of that understood?"

"Yes Sensei," All three Genin replied.

"Perfect, now, before the warm-up and before I forget, take one of these," Yugao informed her students as she gave them each a slip of paper. "Oh, except you Goku."

"What are those for anyways, Sensei?" Goku asked as he stared at his paper.

"Well Goku, these chakra papers are for finding out a persons natural element to do jutsu on." She responded with a smirk.

Hinata's look of confusion morphed into one of excitement. Thanks to Iruka's repeated lessons, she remembered the discussion on nature affinities. She knew exactly what they were and she was excited to say the least.

"Just a heads up, I won't really be teaching you two nature manipulation just yet." Yugao informed them. "But, I still want to do this for two reasons. For one, I can have it for a reference for later on. And two, when I do start teaching you guys jutsu, I know what type of jutsus will be easier and more effective for you to learn based on your chakra affinity. Now...put some chakra into your papers and let's find out your affinities!"

The two genin nodded and followed their Sensei's request. Hinata was the first to have her paper react. Her paper was promptly lit on fire and burnt to crisp, the Hyuga girl crushing the paper with his hands and letting the ash flow to the ground.

"Fire element, surprising for a Hyuga," Yugao informed her. "Probably the least flexible and versatile element of all five. No defense, yet extreme on offense and it's good with short to mid range. You don't have a lot of things you can do with it, but if you actually get good with it then you could even augment that into your Jyuken."

"Really?" Hinata asked, a smile growing on her face. She seemed proud to hear she had an element that could be augmented into her Taijutsu, making it valuable to her squad. Even though she knew one Katon Jutsu in particular, she hadn't known that it was her affinity. Yugao nodded in a blatant response to the simple question.

"...Troublesome." Shikamaru simply stated as he stopped applying chakra and ended the crumpling of his paper. "...I'll just stick with my Clan's **Kagemane Jutsu's**. Doton jutsu's sound too much of drag to learn."

"Oh no you won't, you can't just cop out of this one. If you have an Earth affinity, you bet your ass we'll be working on that thing. Who knows, maybe it'll get you to be more active or something." The Jonin informed him. "Also, it augments your clan Jutsu's very nicely, providing shade _and_ protection for planning, suited just for you and your abilities."

The Nara was then starting to grow nervous and wary of his Sensei.

"..Anyways, I just wanted to get that in for a reference for the future," Yugao stated, getting everyone's attention. "Anyhow, let's get to work with these warm-ups. Let's start your first day of training with me shall we."

 **-Forty Five Minutes Later-**

What started off as a harmless, normal warm-up turned into a training session from hell for the Genin, or rather Shikamaru. He was seen laying on the ground, tired and panting while Anko stood above him, frowning. Hinata wasn't deadbeat exhausted, nor was she was on her last legs, but she was breathing extremely hard indeed. However, the surprising, or the rather unsurprising thing, was that Goku still stood, albeit a little winded. He was still ready to go for more, grinning in exasperation.

"Ah, come on, it wasn't that bad, look at Goku!" Yugao said aloud, chuckling at the sight of Shikamaru.

"Not that bad? You call doing two-hundred sit ups, two-hundred push ups, and one hundred laps around the training field not that bad?" Shikamaru asked incredulously, before adding more to it. "That's also not mentioning the kunai you would throw at us whenever we stopped for a few seconds, or the times where you forced us to start over because of some troublesome reason." Shikamaru added, glaring at the woman in front of him. _'She's worse than my mom! Good lord...this is a pain...'_

"Seriously, it isn't that bad. You should watch what Gai does to his Genin squad on a daily basis," Yugao responded nonchalantly.

Despite all of his rude remarks towards her, Hinata felt sympathy for her cousin, Neji, if Anko's words about his Sensei were true. _'What kinda training is worse than this anyways? And how is Goku still full of energy?'_

"Anyway, that concludes your warm-up for today." The Jonin told them with a smile. The three genin took this time to get up. "Now, onto group training. Today's focus is chakra control and building up chakra reserves."

 _'DAMNIT! This is going to be just like with mom, but worse...again...'_ Shikamaru groaned in his head.

"Now, just curious, do you guys know how to climb trees with only your feet by now?" The Sensei asked. The genin nodded in response. "Oh, that's good. I'd take you to practice water walking, but there's no water here...guess I'll have to do that later. For now, I'll just work on improving your tree walking."

The Anbu led the genin members of Team Eight towards the forest near the training grounds. She stood in front of three trees in particular.

"Okay, today's lesson plan is simple: climb up the trees and get to the branches. Then keep walking underneath the branches and hold your positions there," Yugao ordered. "And for you Goku, I'm gonna have you work much harder than the others since you don't have chakra."

"Huh? That's it?" Hinata asked.

"We'll see." She shrugged in response. "Anyway, the day's going, get a move on!"

With those words, the two normal genin rushed up their tree as quickly as they could. They all got on the underside of the top branch on their trees and stood there.

"Okay Goku, I want you to do one-thousand push-ups on one hand before running two-hundred laps around the training field. Then I want you to work on controlling your Ki, as I've noticed that it was an area that still needed work. I honestly can't train you as much as the others, but you know what to do, now get started," She instructed, promptly receiving a nod from the Saiyan for her directives.

 **-Two Hours Later-**

Once again, all three genin were laying on the ground in exhaustion, including even Goku this time. The Chakra/Ki exhaustion was added with their physical exhaustion to make it even harder for the three genin.

Yugao had decided that the two normal genin weren't being challenged enough, so she ordered them to hop from tree branch to tree branch in the forest while underneath the tree. This was naturally harder to do then being above the tree and required even more chakra control and balance. Anko would also, once again, throw kunai at her students when they showed signs of tiredness to urge them to keep moving and training.

"Come on, get up! We're not finished yet, we need to do individual training now." Yugao reminded them with a smile.

The three genin got up once again, this time a bit more slowly.

"You're a sadist...you know that?" Shikamaru informed her with a deep breath.

"Heh, very funny." The woman responded with sarcasm in her voice.

"Just give a few minutes to relax, please Anko-Sensei?" Hinata requested.

The newly appointed Jonin sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll give you guys ten minutes to take a break. Just be ready to continue when times up."

With those words, the three kids passed out onto the ground in exhaustion once again.

 _'...Well, at least I'm getting stronger everyday, I can already feel myself closing in on my goals...'_ Goku told himself, thinking on the positive side.

 **-Ten Minutes Later-**

"Today, it's just going to be you and me," The purple-haired woman stated with her trademark sadistic grin, sending clones to go work with both Goku and Shikamaru.

"Yep..." her student replied in curiosity, wandering what she would be learning.

"Now...for today's first day of training, I am going to teach you how to use a weapon." Yugao informed the Hyuga heiress as she started digging in the bag she was holding.

"What? A weapon, why?" Hinata asked, very curious in her sensei's crazed thoughts. "And why a weapon of all things? Most Hyuga don't use weapons in their fighting style, only our clan-styled Taijutsu."

Yugao was about to pull out the weapon of her choosing before she registered what Hinata had just said. She put her bag down for a second with a sigh and turned to her student in a calm manner.

"I feel I should ask you: can I be brutally honest with you about your clan?" The Jonin asked.

"Sure, I don't give a damn about them right now anyways," Hinata replied coldly. She knew her clan wasn't as prestigious and smart as they were made out to be, and she could careless about them at the moment.

"Your clan is the largest group of ignorant dumb-asses in the village, second to none." Yugao stated rather bluntly.

Hinata's eyes only slightly widened, having expected such an insult. She merely remained silent, however, waiting to hear her sensei's words.

"You see, we all know that you all possess the Byakugan, a Doujutsu that allows a near perfect three-sixty degree vision in addition to seeing through walls and the ability to see a persons chakra. However, the only thing your clan really uses it for is the Jyuken. Now, don't mistake it, the Gentle Fist is truly lethal and effective and that makes a Hyuga hard to fight. That being said, all you really use your eyes for is that and that alone." Yugao explained her reasoning. "A Hyuga would make probably the best medic nin in the world, since you can see directly through a person and into their body's systems. But you guys never become medics because of 'tradition', which is plain arrogance." The Anbu rolled her eyes at her own words.

Hinata frowned as well. She actually had an interest in medical ninjutsu and even designed her own healing salves and medicine. Still, she knew she wouldn't be allowed to become a medical ninja. It would be considered 'impractical', 'a waste of time', and 'disgraceful' to her clan. However, she had been cast out from the clan, so she was free to do as she pleased.

"There's also another thing your clan fails to use your eyes for, ranged attacks." Yugao continued in her rant. "You guys have such great vision that you could see enemy shinobi coming from far distances and yet, you are all close range fighters only? That's blasphemous, to hell with that."

Yugao finally ended up going back to her bag and pulling out the weapon she was getting earlier. Hinata's eyes wandered to it and gasped at what she saw.

Her sensei was holding a crossbow that was made particularly for channeling chakra and making ranged attacks with it.

"Yeah, I decided that you should capitalize on what your eyes can do. I'm going to work with you on developing your ranged skills. I'll teach you some more jutsus later on when you can learn them. For now though, let's work on developing your long-range attacking." She declared, handing over the crossbow to the Hyuga.

Hinata held the wooden crossbow in her hands tightly. She instinctively moved her hand back and forth down its body, trying to get a feel for her new weapon. The Hyuga then had another thought come into her head.

"Byakugan!" She shouted, activating her doujutsu.

Her vision expanded greatly, showing her everything around her due to her eye's range. For the first time in awhile, though, Hinata noticed just how far she could see with her eyes.

 _'I...I'd say I can see about a little more than a kilometer. I can see far away trees with fruit that I could hit from right here. I know if there was a ninja there, I could see them and would be able to hit them with any sharp projectile!'_ Hinata thought, excitedly. _'And I can increase my vision with more practice too...'_

"So you realize just how deadly you could be, don't ya?" Yugao asked her student. "Get yourself plenty of practice, and you could make yourself Konoha's single greatest distance fighter! And if somehow an enemy survived past your assaults from a distance, you'd have the Jyuken or you Jutsu's themselves for when they get too close."

Hinata felt determination rush through her body. She immediately held the light-weight crossbow in the air and channeled her chakra through it, making it go rife with blue energy. As she started to aim at a faraway apple in a tree with a few arrows already attached to the crossbow, Yugao saw this determination and a visible grin came to be on her face.

 **-One Hour Later-**

After an hour of individual training, Yugao ended the sessions and closed training for the day. Shikamaru especially seemed to be excited about this concept. He was completely exhausted having to deal with Yugao's one-on-one physical training in addition to the previous sessions with his teammates. The boy was completely drained and he was surprised he was still standing.

 _'I am taking the first chance I get to take a nap, I really need one. Troublesome woman...'_ He complained.

Hinata was not nearly as tired as her lazy friend was, but she was sore in her hands and her eyes. She had been practicing her skill with the crossbow and arrow the entire time, attempting to hit faraway targets to make herself a skilled range fighter. At first, in her own thoughts, she knew that she was very pathetic with it. Still, with each arrow shot, she was getting better. By the end of the session, the Hyuga was finally starting to get the concept. With enough practice, the goal was to allow her to channel her Katon chakra nature through her crossbow so she could shoot projectiles that were already on fire. It was actually an ingenious concept created by Yugao.

 _'If I can get it down perfectly, that'll make me even better of a ninja. It'll make me stronger for the team...'_ She mentally thought, creating more determination to learn to use the lightweight crossbow.

Goku, of course, was the least tired in the group. His endurance and stamina was unparalleled by almost all genin or even chunin for that matter, making the training fairly easy for him. He had worked on his energy sensing ability with his Sensei while blindfolded, and he was shellacked more times than he could remember by her or an object. He knew he wasn't that good at sensing anything, he only found where Naruto was by how close and strong his latent energy was. However, he improved, if only slightly at it. And he knew that if he continued then he would be prolific at it in no time.

 _'I just need to work on it more. After I get that down, I'll move onto energy usage next,'_ Goku thought excitedly.

"This shall be it for training today. I'll admit, I was real hard on you guys for just the first training session, but you all are doing good jobs thus far," Yugao told them with a smile. "Just know that training won't get any easier from here on out."

All three genin, even Shikamaru, felt joy at their sensei's words.

"Anyways, now it's mission time..." Yugao told them with a sigh. "And it's going to be _very_ boring."

"Finally, something on the field," Goku said, hoping for something worthwhile.

 _'Hopefully the mission won't upset Goku too much...'_ Hinata thought to herself. She remembered Iruka's lesson on mission ranks and knew that they were going to get a D-Rank. She knew it would be way 'too easy' for Goku, and she was worried for his reaction afterwards.

 _'Damnit...I really wanted to get some rest...'_ Shikamaru groaned.

"Well...let's go and get this crap over with..." Yugao said with a sigh, leading the way for her genin squad to the Hokage tower. She remembered when she was Genin and she had to carry out those missions, they could only be described as one word: trash.

 **-After The First Mission-**

The young Saiyan had many expectations for his first mission. He had wondered what great mission would he be able to say was his first. He thought that they would actually get some on-field combat experience. He had many decent expectations and ideas for his first mission. None of them involved pulling weeds and watering the ground.

"What the hell is this?!" Goku shouted a complaint as he pulled up another weed.

"Hey, stop complaining! You're a beginner, what did you expect?" Yugao said in response as she helped pick up weeds with her team.

"Something better than this crap, this is stuff for Academy students!" The boy roared back as he picked up another weed.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at her teammates rather comedic frustration, but she completely sympathized. She liked growing plants and pressing flowers, so she knew how evil weeds were. She was not enjoying this mission at all, but she wasn't about to showcase her frustrations.

Shikamaru didn't even register his friend's comments. He was currently using his friend's voice as a cover for him to take a break and try to take a nap.

Despite snapping at Goku, Yugao completely understood the boy's disappointment and complaining. She couldn't believe just how boring this mission was. It was even worse than she had remembered about a decade ago.

 _'...How many more missions till I can request a C-Rank? Please, come soon...'_ Yugao thought in desperation as she picked up another weed herself.

 **-With Team Seven; After A Week of Training-**

The next day dawned and every member of team seven aside from Kakashi were quite sore from the training session the previous day. The enhanced weights that they received from Kakashi the next day after the test last week weren't massively heavy, but they were making their presence felt. And for Sakura whom had never exercised this much in her life, it was pure agony. Yet through the pain she clenched her teeth and completed her assigned morning exercise of twenty-five laps around the training field regardless.

The D-ranked mission of the day was pulling up weeds and cleaning up around a field. The mission actually finished quite quickly when Kakashi had Naruto use his **Kage Bunshin** technique. They were done in less than 2 hours which made everyone happy. Naruto felt like he had contributed the most with his technique, Sakura was just glad she didn't have to pull anymore weeds with her sore muscles and Sasuke was eager for more rigorous training for obvious reasons.

As the team finished the mission, Kakashi took them back out to their normal training spot. Kakashi told them that today they would learn about how to handle themselves as shinobi in a fight. Naruto and Sasuke were to sit and practice rotating leaves on their forehead while Sakura paced up and down a tree as they listened.

"I'm going to share with you some of the lessons I've learned both as a shinobi and as an ANBU Captain. Pay attention because these lessons are lessons that many shinobi refuse to learn," Kakashi looked at their expectant face. "The first and most important lesson is only two words. Ego. Kills." All three looked puzzled.

"Shinobi can bend the elements. Some can travel further and faster than any bird. Some can break rocks with their bare hands. This leads to pride, hubris, arrogance and ego. Wielding this power, we feel invincible and that is when we take stupid risks. That's also when we end up KIA. The most danger you will ever be in is the moment you think you've won the battle. Never assume your opponent is defeated until they are truly dead."

Kakashi paced back and forth. This was a passion of his, and he couldn't stand the idiocy of other ninja. Why would you brag about your abilities? Why would you give information to your enemies on for it to bite you in the ass later on? "Along that same line of thought never and I mean _never_ explain to your opponent how your abilities work or how you were able to defeat their jutsu or whatever. Pride causes shinobi to brag about how their Kekkei Genkai, special training or weapon makes them invincible. Such stupidity has led to strong shinobi actually losing to weaker and less powerful opponents."

The three sat in stunned silence. All of them could see the appeal of showing how they defeated their enemy, but when they really took a moment to think about it they realized it was pretty idiotic. Kakashi let the words sink in and then continued with his lesson.

"On a mission when it is time to kill. Kill. Do not 'toy' with your enemy. Do not mock them. Do not 'test their abilities'. Do none of those things. Kill them as quickly and as effectively as possible." Sakura swallowed heavily. There it was, talk about killing. Naruto and Sasuke were not as affected by it. Naruto had been ready to kill Mizuki for trying to murder Iruka-Sensei and himself even though Goku beat him to the punch, and Sasuke had made it his life's mission to kill someone already.

"It may not always be appropriate to use your most powerful jutsu, especially since the more powerful the jutsu the more it may drain your chakra. If there is a significant probability of additional opponents, you may want to save your chakra. Maybe. All is contextual, but I'd rather you were on the side of overkill. And for the love of Kami, don't sit there and admire your jutsu. If your opponent is injured by your attack, follow up immediately. Before your attack even lands, start preparing for your next strike. Constant motion is required. Attack swiftly, relentlessly and without mercy," Kakashi stopped and met each of his student's eyes. "Constant motion will keep you alive and your enemy unbalanced and out of sync."

Kakashi went on for some time, explaining common sense rules that most shinobi seemed incapable of following, yet it boiled down to some very simple truths. Hide your strength. Kill swiftly. Never assume that you have won until your enemy is truly dead. Kakashi repeated the lesson until he felt that all of them had learned them. He caught Sasuke's eye when he spoke of arrogance. Naruto's eye when he talked about boasting. And every time he mentioned the word kill he practically glared in Sakura's direction.

"Disobey any of my rules and I'll make you do D-rank missions until I decide to retire. Got it?"

"Hai Sensei!" His Genin squad shouted at once. Kakashi allowed a small thrill of pride to percolate across his body. It had only been a week, but his genin were already turning into moderately obedient shinobi.

' _Alright, rant over, time to see their progress on the tree walking exercise_.'

"Alright, you two up the trees," Kakashi ordered.

Naruto and Sasuke both raced up the tree, their skill had improved greatly ever since before they became genin. They were actually able to run up the tree with ease, a combination of momentum, athleticism and chakra control allowed them to do it. Both boys felt triumphant, Naruto with a massive grin and Sasuke with a more subtle smirk.

"Impressive that you've mastered tree _running_ , but I'm afriad you'll need to master tree _walking_ before you get anymore jutsu from yours truly."

Both genin sagged in disappointment. Another day and no more jutsu to add to their already small repertoire of them.

Kakashi gave them an eye smile, "I'm going to go work with Sakura on the next level of chakra control, try not to keep her waiting too long." Sakura glared at her sensei, was he trying to get her Sasuke-kun mad at her? Sasuke was many things but stupid was not one of them.

Kakashi eyed the glaring kunoichi and pointed in the direction of a large pond. "There's a pond about five miles away from here, start running to it." Sakura whimpered as she picked up her leaden feet and started to jog. Kakashi then fired a Kunai that scraped her calf due to her lack of intense movement. Sakura's panicked stricken face whirled toward her Sensei as she saw him heft another kunai in his hand. As he lifted it to throw, Sakura redoubled her efforts as Kakashi laughed to himself.

Once they made it to the pond, the Hatake had Sakura begin water walking. Once again he was impressed by her ability to pick it up so swiftly, her chakra control was really something else. She had only fallen in twice and now was standing on it as easily as she stood on the earth.

"You really need to improve on your stamina and your chakra reserves. That means you get to do your taijutsu forms for the next two hours on the water!" Sakura shivered, if she had known this is what it took to be a shinobi she would have never signed up! Sakura wouldn't back down now though, she would prove that she could be a shinobi too. She would prove that she was worthy of her Sasuke-kun!

Kakashi left a clone there and went back to monitor the progress of the other two members of his team. He worked with them on their chakra control and by the end of the two hours, they had made significant progress. Both boys simply oozed with potential, and with their fierce competitive nature they were giving it their all each and every time, Kakashi not even having to encourage them once.

Sakura had been forced to run back to the training ground by the Kakashi clone and she fell down panting once she arrived. The man was a damn monster! Kakashi motioned for Naruto and Sasuke to stop and eye-smiled at them. "Well done all of you. You should all be at the level of chakra control needed to start learning jutsu. And in preparation for that, I need to determine your elemental affinities, or more specifically you, Sakura."

While they had been briefed in the academy, there were things they didn't seem to know yet, or atleast in Sakura's case. Kakashi explained how most shinobi had an affinity with a specific element and it made learning jutsu from that element much easier.

Sakura had then asked an obvious question. "Can you have more than one main affinity?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Not without a Kekkei Genkai, however that does not mean you can't learn jutsu's from another element. It's simply difficult. Each element requires molding chakra in a specific way. Learning jutsu that you have an affinity for is like studying a complex problem written in the language you know. Learning a jutsu that you don't have a natural affinity for is like studying a complex problem written in a foreign language. You can learn a second language, but you typically will always think in your native tongue. Difficulties in learning multiple jutsu elements increases on an exponential level."

Sakura understood this concept, "So learning a second element is twice as hard but learning a third element might be four times as hard?"

Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "Right concept wrong degree. It's not precise but for most shinobi learning a second element is typically ten times as hard as the first." His students looked at him with wide, round eyes. "And learning a third element is then one hundred times as hard as the first element, and you can do the math to figure out the fourth and fifth elements."

Kakashi held up his hand as they gawked at him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, the first step is learning your affinities." The Hatake then had Sakura channel her chakra into the chakra paper, and the paper swiftly dampened, becoming very soggy. ' _Hmm...that's unfortunate, I had hoped one of them would be earth based to round out the team_ ,' Kakashi thought to himself. ' _Oh well, at least with Sasuke's Sharingan, he'll be able to learn jutsu from any element._ '

" **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** ," Kakashi said, crossing his fingers and creating two Shadow Clones. "Okay, Sakura you're with the real me. Naruto, Sasuke, you're with my clones. With all that said, let's get started shall we?"

For the rest of the day, Kakashi oversaw the elemental training, primarily focused on Sakura as she needed the most help.

Naruto and Sasuke were a bit miffed that they wouldn't gain any training on Raiton/Futon jutsu's other than the basic ones they already learned, and Naruto's Futon: **Shinkugyoku no Jutsu**. In fact, they wouldn't learn anything new until they got their elemental chakra control up to Kakashi's liking, as it still needed work. The good thing is that they were learning far faster than most traditional genin squads ever learned. Based on what they had learned from the Academy when they did bother to pay attention, most genin were not taught elemental jutsu until they made chunin.

Sakura was actually very surprising, as her chakra control happened to be outright magnificent, being able to form traces of her chakra element after only one hour of practice. She could actually even form everything right on a simple Suiton jutsu, the only dilemma being she lacked the chakra to actually make it form properly. It was rather eye opening, especially considering that it normally would have taken several days or even weeks to learn how to properly mold chakra into traces of water. Now the only thing left to do was improve her chakra reserves to a good enough standard to safely start learning some Suiton techniques.

 **-With Team Seven; A Week Later-**

Sakura watched Naruto head off on his own after training again. Although she had been working very hard the past week and she felt like she was making progress, it felt like she was standing still in comparison to Sasuke and even Naruto. Granted Naruto still screwed up from time to time, but she believed it had more to do with his own competition with Sasuke rather than any idiocy on his part.

For Sakura, shinobi life was falling far short of her romantic fantasies she used to have growing up, it was only intensive training to the limit every single day. It would primarily consist mainly of sparring, harsh chakra-building workouts, and elemental chakra training. And although Sasuke was easily the best of the three with his Sharingan, Naruto was making great strides when it came to his own Taijutsu. Training would generally start early in the morning since Kakashi was a slave driver and always pushing his genin to the limit, not to mention he was completely nigh inexhaustible, which meant by the end of the three hour sessions, Sasuke would be on the defensive as Naruto kept coming.

It didn't fit with the Naruto that she knew from the academy. Although that wasn't entirely correct since Naruto had tried, but when he grew bored and started to misbehave only Iruka had ever really cared enough to try and rein him in. Maybe had the other instructors been more on the ball, Naruto would have been giving Sasuke a run for his money more often.

It just raised more and more questions which really bothered her. Sakura noticed again how everybody went out of their way not to notice Naruto, which she felt should be a difficult thing to do since the kid was dressed from head to toe in orange. A stray memory flashed in front of her of a young Naruto crying in a market place alone and what made it all the more potent was nobody stopped to ask why. She had been with her mother and had tried to stop, but had simply been pulled along, leaving the boy alone.

Heading home, Sakura couldn't really explain her sudden interest in her red-haired teammate, but it was definitely there as she wondered why his life was so lonely. Granted his pranks could be annoying, but they were for the most part harmless. From time to time, she could see that something weighed Naruto down, but she was positive whatever it was it was something he had just learned as she couldn't ever really remember seeing him looking so serious before.

She also wondered why Naruto hadn't asked her for any dates for the past few months. She realized why a moment later and felt her hand come up to her chest as it clenched with emotion as a result of her understanding. He was stepping aside for her happiness. He was doing what she had always wanted him to do during the academy, to leave her alone to pursue Sasuke.

Sakura returned home to get some sleep of her own, figuring it would be another long day tomorrow. She had a dream of her two teammates and was surprised by how real it felt. In the dream she saw her two teammates walking ahead of her getting further and further away. She ran to catch up, but no matter how fast she ran she simply couldn't catch up to the seemingly impossible pace they were walking.

 **-The Next Day-**

Kakashi eye-smiled as he watched his team do the D-ranked mission of doing chores on a nearby farm. Kakashi had been pleased with Naruto today although he had been worried at first as the redhead had a habit of screwing up. He had been more mindful of him after Naruto's mistake had cost him a day's pay when the boy had destroyed a garden of priceless herbs because he had thought they were weeds and wanted to outperform Sasuke. As a result, the Third Hokage had docked him seeing as he believed it was Kakashi's job to make sure such mishaps didn't happen. He wasn't mad at Naruto as the boy reminded him too much of Obito to make that a possibility, but he had been eerily annoyed.

However, today when Naruto was about to get ramped up into another of his must beat Sasuke moods, Sakura had approached him and admonished him. She wouldn't have done that if it weren't for her Sensei's constant lessons about teamwork and helping each other up. Although he didn't hear what she had said, it had done the trick as Naruto visibly calmed and went about doing his tasks in a more thoughtful manner. Watching the pink-haired girl struggle with a bag of feed for the livestock, Kakashi knew she was probably berating herself, since both of her teammates were still going much stronger. Finally, she couldn't hold it anymore and dropped the bag. Sasuke had noticed it, but didn't stop repairing the fence he was working on, but Naruto whom was painting a barn stopped and created a clone to continue his chore so he could walk over to her.

He was about to pick it up when Sakura said, "I can do it baka, I don't need your help!"

"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan," Naruto replied picking it up, "I don't mind helping at all."

"But…"

"Besides," he interrupted kindly. "Because of your advice, I'm actually almost done with my list instead of struggling to keep up with the teme. So take it easy and come back when you're rested, I got this."

Sakura thanked him begrudgingly before moving towards a tree to rest in the shade. Sitting down, she admitted it felt good to rest. She was seeing improvements in her shinobi skill, but she still felt like she was standing still in comparison.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Kakashi as he said, "Taking a load off?"

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei, I'll get right back to work," Sakura said promptly, moving to get up.

"Relax Sakura," Kakashi said, eye-smiling at her, "that is what Naruto wanted after all." His statement raised by the slightly embarrassed look that appeared on Sakura's face but he put her at ease as he told her, "Actually I wanted to know what you said to him. As I'm sure you've noticed he can be a bit of a handful, but today's he's been pretty calm and... rather collected."

"I didn't say anything really Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, "I just said he would probably do better if he didn't worry so much what Sasuke-kun was doing."

"Well it seems to be working," Kakashi said as Naruto was feeding the livestock. Crossing his arms he added, "But maybe you should consider the same thing."

"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Well, why didn't you stop when you were tired?"

"I…I didn't want to be a burden," Sakura said still disappointed in herself.

"Does Naruto look burdened?"

Staring at the red-haired boy as he put a little feed in his hand to feed one of the animals, Sakura shook her head and said, "He actually looks happy."

"I'm sure he is," Kakashi said giving an eye-smile at the scene, "It's a nice change."

Sakura looked up only to see that her sensei had taken off, leaving her to wonder if Kakashi knew what it was about Naruto that people didn't like. He obviously knew that Naruto was or had been lonely in the past if what he had just said was any indication. ' _But what changed_?' Sakura asked herself. ' _We did_ ,' she thought almost feeling like she wanted to smack her forehead, ' _Sasuke and I have acknowledged him_.'

Granted, Sasuke and him still didn't get along as if they were bestfriends, but even then their rivalry meant greatly to Naruto, and even to Sasuke himself. As to her, she had been trying to be nicer to the redhead although she still had to rain punishment down upon his skull from time to time. Yet even then, he would look up at her whilst rubbing the knot on his head, smiling that smile that could brighten anyone's day no matter what happened.

Feeling rested, she got up to go finish her share of the chores as she knew otherwise Naruto may do them all and she wanted to contribute to the team as well.

 **-Later With Team Eight-**

Weeks passed since the first day of training. The four members of Team Eight eventually fell into routine with the hard-work of their first day. Each day, they would meet up at the training ground and begin the training exactly like they did earlier. After training was complete, they would perform a D-Rank mission from the Hokage before being dismissed for the day.

Yugao couldn't help but notice that her genin were indeed getting stronger. Physically, the warm-ups were helping them get tougher and get them more stamina. Their chakra control as a whole was also improving. The Jonin took them out to practice water walking during their first week and after a few days, the chakra users were able to get to the hang of it.

Shikamaru was probably showing the biggest signs of development. The boy had went through the most rigid physical program under Yugao. Although he was still a lazy ass, the boy had indeed improved up to Yugao's standards, thus far. He was getting tougher and his reflexes had improved from the horrendous stature it was the weeks before. His Taijutsu was actually getting closer to the point of being 'decent' to his sensei. When he reached this level, his one-on-one fights with Yugao stopped and she spent her time working on his specialty: tactics and planning.

Hinata also grew in her skill set. After weeks of practice, the girl had picked up a real talent for ranged-fighting. She grew to really like her crossbow and carried it around with her in a strap on her back at all times. The girl's training was making her very proficient at fighting in range and was also improving her vision's distance little by little with the constant use of the Byakugan.

Goku however, grew the least admittedly, yet he still improved in every category. His training with Yugao had made him worlds better when it came to distinguishing everyone's energy, which in turn made him a much better energy sensor, chakra or not. Energy was energy, and he could sense both of them, which gave him an advantage over pure chakra-sensors. Other than that, he hadn't really improved upon anything other than gains at the basics, which was notably his sheer physicality. And Yugao couldn't help but be astounded by Goku's Taijutsu; the boy was absolutely terrific at it, and only continued to improve at a quick pace, meaning he was a fighting genius!

Team Eight's Sensei noticed the growth and development in all three of her students. She couldn't help but feel a taste of pride in their progress thus far. She recognized in the test that the three would wind up being good shinobi at least, but she couldn't gauge to what extent, and she still couldn't.

 _'If they keep this up, they'll be the one of the best squads Konoha has ever produced,'_ Yugao mentally noted with a smile at the thought.

She continued to watch over their progress and assist in their training in anyway she could. Overtime, being a Sensei seemed easier and more natural to her. She was getting the hang of things and was able to assist her team in more ways as the days went by.

Days soon turned to weeks, which turned into one month and Team Eight continued to grow in strength and skill. Their development continued to be more apparent as time went by. Still, the squad had been stuck doing D-Rank missions since their beginning. All four members, even Shikamaru, would agree that they were ready for a higher level mission...or so they thought.

 **-In The Hokage's Office-**

"Ah! Back for another mission Team Eight?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asks the genin team cheerfully as all four members walk into his office.

"Yes, we are." Hinata spoke up for her team after realizing that no one else is going to say anything. The Hokage then nods at the Hyuga's words and immediately looks at a list of all the available missions for the team.

"Hmm...well, there are some more houses that need to be painted in the southern part of Konoha. And it seems like the Daimyo's cat has escaped once again for the thousandth time." He mentioned as he looked over the list.

"Um If I may, Hokage-sama, don't you think we deserve a C-Rank mission now? I mean, we've done plenty of D-Ranks!" Yugao asked, dreading the very thought of repeating the cat mission again for another day.

Goku smirked at his Sensei's anxiousness for a better mission, and he liked it. "She's right. Come on Hokage-sama, give us a decent C-Rank mission already!"

"A C-Rank?" The Hokage asked. "Do you think your team can handle one?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama, my team has done plenty of missions over the past month. They've completed more than enough D-Ranks necessary to request one and I can say that from watching them, they're a tough bunch of Genin. Therefore, I believe they can handle one." Yugao informed him. Her nerves seemed to go away and she felt more confident that she could get a C-Rank mission allowed.

The Hokage seemed to nod in understanding. He took out another list of missions and started to look at it, to see if there was an appropriate mission to assign to Team Eight.

"Hmm...ah! I think I found one," He declared as he pointed to one. He then started digging through a scroll with the mission contents in more detail.

"Finally, a real field-mission!" Goku exclaimed, excited at the prospect. After getting out all of the laughter at seeing the reaction, the Hokage started to speak to the members of Team Eight.

"Your mission is an escort mission to the Taki no Kuni. You'll be escorting the wealthy heiress from Capsule Corporations, whom was traveling in Hi no Kuni to search for something, but failed in her endeavors. You will take her back into Capsule Corp which is located in the Taki area, where you will drop her off." The Hokage gave a brief synopsis of the mission.

 _'We're going to the most brilliant place in the world? This isn't some normal boring C-Rank, which is great! This is a good one, guaranteed,'_ Yugao inwardly cheered.

"So, when exactly is the mission? And who exactly is our client? All we know is that she is just some rich heiress looking for something." Shikamaru asked for the group.

"Your mission starts tomorrow. That's the day the client is expected to leave Konoha by. As for who she is, I will have Yugao meet with her in her hotel room after we're done here. The rest of you will meet her tomorrow." Sarutobi informed him. "If there are no more questions, then the genin are all dismissed!"

Goku, Hinata and Shikamaru said goodbye to the Hokage and their sensei before leaving the room.


	12. The Akatsuki?

_Chapter 12: The Akatsuki?_

* * *

 **-With Goku-**

The Saiyan smirked, walking out of the office with his two friends next to him. He tried to ignore all of the looks he had garnered from just striding along the streets on the way, but they still irked him. He didn't really know where he was going, but his friends chose to tag with him anyways, not knowing anything else to do.

Having had enough of the silence, the Saiyan broke it with the ceasing of walking. He turned towards with his friends with a normal expression on his face, ready to speak to them both. "Why are you guys following me?"

"Well, there's nothing else to do...if we're bothering you we can lea-" Hinata started saying until the Saiyan cut her off with the wave of his hand. He looked towards his male teammate and he nodded at the girls words.

"No, I didn't ask y'all to leave, I just wanted to know," he clarified, before feeling his stomach growl. "Are either of you up for some delicious food?"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru lazily responded. "Sure, I've got nothing else to do anyways. Where do you wanna go?"

"Erm, let's have Hinata choose this time." Goku resonated, shifting the attention towards his pale-eyed friend.

"Um, how about the newly opened 'Kunai Shrine' buffet?" The Hyuga suggested, her choice being made to compensate for Goku's noted insane eating habits. "It holds enough food to support even you, Goku."

"Heh, well we're about to find out, cause' I'm starving!" The Saiyan exclaimed, causing both of his teammates to chuckle a bit.

"Of course _you_ are Goku, when are you not," the Nara joked, grinning along with his teammates while walking.

"Good point, Lazy Ass."

 **-With The Unknown-**

Ten silhouettes stood atop large rocks situated in front of a large statue inside a large cave just outside the Red Ribbon Army base. Seven of the silhouettes seemed blurry and almost see-through, as if they were not truly present.

"Zetsu, the alien is leaving his village soon, correct?" One of the figures asked in an authoritative voice.

"Yes." Another figure, Zetsu, responded. Unlike the other nine, this figure took the shape of a Venus-fly trap. It then changed its voice before speaking again. "Their mission begins tomorrow. He and his team will be heading near Taki no Kuni towards the Tenchi Bridge, where they'll escort the infamous client Bulma Briefs back to Mirai Toshi."

"Good." The first figure spoke. He then the turned his attention towards two more figures, standing next to each other. "Kakuzu, Oroka, I have a mission for you both. As you two are the closest to the area, you will engage the extraterrestrial and his team during their travels. Fight him to test his abilities and see where the boy stands. If possible, try to capture him alive for subjection and the extraction of his blood. If you can, try and pin his 'disappearance' on the Taki shinobi to create tensions between the two villages. Also, kill all of his companions while you're at it."

"Understood." One of the figures replied in a bored, uncaring tone of voice. "Anyhow, if that's all the orders you have for thy, then I'm out."

With those words, the figure disappeared from view on his rock.

"Didn't even wait for any more orders...that imprudent, stupid little..." The figure that was standing next to him hissed under his breath before he turned to face the leader. "My partner is getting on my last nerves, and has been doing so for the past few days. Expect me to need a new partner, as I will kill his ass very soon and turn him in for the bounty Iwa has on his head if he keeps pissing me off."

" **That'll be the fourth one** , **Kakuzu**." Zetsu replied nonchalantly.

"We can look into that for you Kakuzu, but for now, just work with him and complete your mission. There are no further orders for you." The leader stated. He then turned his attention to Zetsu. "Zetsu, keep track on the Jinchuriki's as well. Find out everything you can about them and their current positions."

"Understood!" The plant-figure replied, his voice back to the way it originally was.

"Konan and I will work on recruiting a new member into the organization, a man who claims to be an immortal. Perhaps this would be the best suited partner for you Kakuzu?" The leader asked in monotone.

"If he pisses me off, I'll just dig and find some way to murder him too." Kakuzu responded simply.

The leader seemed to ignore the man's response and turned to the entire group. "As for the rest of you, you all know and have your individual assignments. This meeting is thereby dismissed until Kakuzu and Oroka complete their mission."

With those words, all silhouettes disappeared without a trace, leaving the leader to glance at a small rice-cooker floating onto the shore of the riverbank with an encryption on it. It read 'Makai Pikkoro', which meant Piccolo Daimao, or Demon-King Piccolo. It also had a seal on it, that translated to 'Mafuba' or Evil Containment Wave. Glancing at it with circular irises, the leader thought back to what he had learned from his former sensei Jiraiya, and realized it was from something of the legends. He was a Demon King of some sort, ruling the world for decades over three-centuries ago, nearly wiping out the world's population. Intriguing, he could provide useful to the Akatsuki's purposes soon, if he was truly required...

 **-With Team Eight-**

Goku, Hinata, and Shikamaru stood in front of the gates of Konoha. The three members of Team Eight were sporting backpacks and extra weaponry for their first C-Rank mission, and first time out of the village, barring Goku of course. They were all anxiously awaiting for their first 'true' mission to begin.

 _'My first time out of the village for a real mission...hopefully it's good so I can see how much better I've gotten and how much more I need to improve,'_ The boy stated inwardly, shifting and twitching in excitement. This excitement soon changed to irritation after a few minutes passed. There sensei and client were nowhere to be found.

"...Yugao-Sensei should be here by now, right?" Goku asked his friends, a frown apparent on his face. "I mean she came to my house and told me 'Be here at 7:00 in the morning.' So where the hell is she right now?"

"I dunno, maybe she's waiting for the client to get ready?" Hinata said with an obvious sigh.

"Troublesome...I actually woke up early today for this and she doesn't even show up on time..." Shikamaru complained. "That's a few more minutes of sleep wasted, damnit."

Minutes soon turn into an hour. It was at this point of irritation that Yugao finally showed her face. She was accompanied by a slender teenager who looked to be in her late teens. She was wearing beige knee length shorts, and a large, simple looking red shirt that had the logo CC on the back as well as the word "Bulma" on the front of the shirt. The woman also had a red-band on her turquoise hair, which was slicked down somewhat past her shoulders unlike Hinata's, whom was a bit on the unkempt, spiky side and above her shoulders.

Yugao didn't get the chance to speak before Goku started to state the obvious.

"Where the heck have you been sensei?" He asked.

"She was still packing when I arrived, and I was busy buying food to last me for the mission." She stated rather bluntly, before pointing towards the woman next to her. "Anyway, this is our client: Bulma. In case you've all forgotten, she is the heiress from Capsule Corporation which is located in Mirai Toshi, and it's our job to escort her back to her home within the city, understood?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Bulma spoke up, after seeing the team nod. "I wasn't ready when your sensei showed up, but now I'm here, let's go."

"She's right, we've wasted enough daylight as it is, so let's hurry up and get moving."

"Yes, finally!" Goku remarked with a grin on his face as they strolled out of the gates. "Wait, what path are we going on?"

"...Just follow me." The purple haired woman informed everyone present as she started off on the path towards Taki no Kuni. "Heads up, this trip is bound to be very long."

The three genin and the heiress nodded in response and followed behind. Team Eight's first C-Rank mission had now officially begun, little did they know what was to come!

 **-Two Hours Later-**

An hour had passed since Team Eight had left the gates of Konoha, and they were currently on the road to reach Taki no Kuni. According to Anko's map and memory, they should reach the area Taki no Kuni on their second, third or fourth day, depending on their speed, and reach the actual city one day later.

The Anbu converted Jonin was currently conversing with Bulma. The women were discussing trivial things such as endeavors, Bulma's reason for coming to Hi no Kuni, the technology in Capsule Corp and etc. The two ladies then reached a conclusion on their conversation. Hinata had decided to take this time to get to know her client.

"So Bulma-san, did you enjoy Hi no Kuni while you were here?" She asked the older adolescent.

"I did indeed, Hinata-san. The country was really beautiful and tranquil," Bulma complimented with a smile, "A stark contrast to how Mirai Toshi is."

Hinata was about to respond, further questioning about her time here, but was cut off by the voice of her spiky-haired teammate.

"Why would you leave the urban life to come here? It's not as safe and secure out here," Goku questioned, just a normal thought. He knew there had to be some ulterior motive behind this, but what could it be? And plus, he was bored out of his mind, which was why he tossed his Dragonball up then caught it repeatedly when it fell down due to said boredom nonchalantly.

"Oh, I was around here for a Dragonball, it's an orange sphere looking thing that has stars on it. I even have a radar to find th-" She paused, her eye catching the orange orb that the thirteen year-old she was talking too possessed. She already had two of them, two of them were collected in a concentrated area near the RR, two were yet to be found and this genin had one too? It was with him all this time?!

"Can I get that orb you have in your possession?" Bulma asked, a bit pleadingly. "I need to make a wish that's personal to me, and it's important!"

"What?!" Goku started, not ready to give up his Dragonball for a personal reason this woman had, even if she was the CC heiress. "I can't! I made a promise to this kid that I would get his family back with em', and I can't back out now. I'm sorry, but I intend to keep the promises I made."

"Damnit," The genius muttered to herself, her plea not having any affect on the Saiyan. Then, she looked at the boy walking next to her still tossing the Dragonball, and noticed how chiseled he was for his age. Not trying to be a pedophile or anything of those sorts, she figured out the perfect bargain for him. "Wait, what if I made you something to help you train much faster at home?"

That one was very tempting to Goku, because he wanted to grow as strong as possible as soon as possible. However, if it meant reviving Upa's family then he'd have to refuse. Although, what if the boy wasn't alive right now? Or what if he wasn't powerful enough to gain all of the Dragonballs from the RR yet? Or what if the Dragon couldn't even grant that wish? There's too many what-ifs and not enough answers to those what-ifs. The point was that he needed to get much stronger, and fast. That would be the only way to successfully get the Dragonballs, and if he had to track down the Dragonballs for a second time then so be it. He would accept this deal and gain power so that he could collect them all easily when he did depart.

"Fine," Goku relented with a sigh. "But this training machine thingy has to be great, or else I'm coming back for those Dragonballs. How soon can you make it for me?"

"I should have it mailed to the gates of Konoha in a Capsule package after the annual Chunin Exams, that should be enough time to make it," The genius stated, smiling gleefully at receiving the Dragonball that Goku had tossed. She was one-step closer to her perfect boyfriend after all this time!

"Hmph, I'll hold you to it then!" Goku stated with a smirk. "I'll nag the hell outta you every time I see you until it get's done just to make sure."

Comfortable silence filled the air after his words, and they continued to walk until Bulma threw out a two-seated mo-pad that came from a Dynocap. This astonished the entire team except for Goku due to seeing the sheer technology she had at her disposal. All capsules had seals on them written in 'Kanji' format, showing a way to emulate technology into fuinjutsu to create them. Seeing that it had two seats, Shikamaru took the offer to ride behind Bulma, and go to sleep.

The remaining three shinobi were excited at the prospect of picking up the pace, and then the group moved on at a much quicker pace than before, Hinata and Goku taking it as a training exercise to keep up with the speed of the mo-pad for as long as they could.

They pressed onward until the group stopped traveling for the day to get some sleep for the night. The genin members were all grateful that Yugao was taking first watch, as they wanted to sleep and get some time to relax after the long and arduous training session had ended, with only Goku not thoroughly exhausted.

 **-The Next Day-**

Day two of traveling began shortly after everyone got up. After a small breakfast that Yugao had prepared from the supplies she brought, Team Eight and their client were off again towards Capsule Corp.

After just an hour of cruising, the group noticed that a young man was walking down the path going straight towards them. He gave a wave to the group walking, but seemed to pay special attention to Bulma. His eyes were focused on the heiress, which Yugao took notice of and immediately readied a kunai.

When the group finally passed the man, he made a signal with his hands. At that moment, twenty-five more men jumped out of the forest, each holding axes, torched pick-forks, or spiky baseball bats. And then, all of the pathetic men charged at the traveling group.

"Ah!" Bulma gasped in surprise, almost falling off the mo-pad in shock. As if on cue, the woman was surrounded on all sides by the members of Team Eight.

"Stay calm: we'll handle this. They're just the everyday, common bandits." Yugao informed him as she tossed one of her kunai knives. It landed directly in the temple of one of the bandits, killing him instantly. "Goku, Hinata, Shikamaru, defend our client by any means necessary whilst taking care of these bandits at the same time."

The three genin nodded and immediately went to work. Goku charged at ten of the incoming bandits, the men not even seeing a blur, but rather a few afterimages. Before they could even see anything else, black overcame all of them in seconds of flawless succession. The Saiyan had snapped all of their necks with ten well-aimed strikes to the jaw, effectively killing them in a few seconds.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and attacked the chakra network of five incoming bandits. Considering the little amount of chakra they possessed, the five men passed out from chakra exhaustion immediately. Shikamaru activated his **Kagemane Jutsu** , freezing four incoming bandits. He dropped the hold just before Hinata attacked their chakra networks, unknowingly killing them. The remaining bandits were handled by Yugao, whom hit them directly into their heads and killed them all instantly. The young man who signaled for the attack was the only one not unconscious or dead.

"I always find it incredibly incomprehensible when bandits like you think you can just kill any shinobi just because you outnumber them." Yugao told him with a frown as she walked towards him, a kunai raised.

"Y-You shinobi are so cocky!" The man blurted out in a mix of anger and fear. "J-Just you wait, my r-remaining men will f-find you. They're waiting out in the forest later on and t-they'll kill you all with explosives!"

"Oh really? I sincerely doubt they'll be a genuine threat to us, but thanks for warning us about what's to come," The purple-haired Jonin said, still emanating killer intent. "It doesn't matter though, you're still going to die here."

The sensei of Team Eight immediately launched her kunai at the man's head, connecting and killing the poor idiot instantly.

"...I-is it safe?" Bulma mumbled nervously, still in shock from the attack.

"Yes, for the moment. Unfortunately, the guy said there were more bandits lurking around." Yugao noted with a sigh, and then she turned to Hinata. "Do you think you can spot them from here?"

Hinata focused her vision further along the path they were heading. As she looked further, she saw three bandits hiding in trees a little less than a kilometer away.

"If you can see them, I want you to kill them for me," The woman said, ordering her pupil to carry it out for a specific reason.

The Hyuga heiress nodded as she pointed her crossbow in their direction. She then readied her longer-than-normal Kunai, lacing it with Chakra, and then firing it off. The kunai hit one of the bandits straight in the neck, ending his life. The other man, who was sitting in a tree, gasped and fell off of it in shock. His head hit the ground hard, killing him with his neck cracking. The other bandit looked at the sight in shock and immediately fled, in fear of dying as well. At least he tried, before another launched kunai impacted the back of his skull, ending his life as well.

"There were three bandits. I killed two and then another one died of shock, cracking his neck upon impact on the ground," Hinata reported to her sensei.

"Thank you all so much, I was worried for a moment back there!" Bulma informed them gratefully.

Hinata was about to smile back when the reality of what just happened occurred to her. The girl had just fired two kunai's and killed two men, then indirectly killed another. She had just killed two people, and realized she also almost-certainly killed the foot bandits as well.

Yugao, Shikamaru, and Goku accepted the praise and smiled in response. Hinata, however, started to shake in response. She remained quiet as she started to stare at the ground, not paranoid but completely devoid of any emotion.

"...Hinata? Hinata? Are you okay?" Goku asked. Hinata didn't say anything. She just continued to stare downward to the ground in silence.

"Hinata?!" The adolescent asked, his concern escalating little by little.

"Okay, squad Eight, let's get back on track, time's wasting," Yugao informed everyone, interrupting the boy's constant questioning.

Hinata was the first to start walking forward, then sprinting, with Bulma and Shikamaru hopping onto the mo-pad, following closely behind. Goku and Yugao carried up the rear, as Yugao decided she needed to talk to the boy.

"Goku, I know you care for her and want to aid her, but you should give Hinata some alone time for a little bit." She told him.

"Huh? Why? She's not feeling good at all!" Goku informed her, irritated that his sensei didn't want him to help his friend.

"Goku...I know what's wrong with her. She just made her first kills, and realization dawned on her." Yugao explained with a somber, understanding look on her face. "For most people, taking lives for the first time is never easy. She's likely beginning to have mental and emotional trauma."

"Well, is there anything we can do to help?" Goku asked, feeling even more concern for Hinata.

"Nothing for now." The Jonin stated sharply, giving no room for debate. "Don't force the issue on her and make her talk when she's not ready for it. It'll just hurt her more. Let her try and come to grips on her own. The most effective thing you can do is give her the space she needs for now and, when she decides she wants to talk, you should be her friend and talk to her about it."

Goku stood in silence for awhile, thinking about the situation. He had already made his first kill with Mizuki, but he still didn't fully understand what exactly Hinata was feeling. He had experienced cold-blooded murder in front of his face and couldn't hope to stop it, and he had felt vast amounts of animosity and rage from it. He wanted to help his friend out badly, but he couldn't think of an exact way to do it.

"...Fine. I'll wait for her to talk about it." The boy sighed, crossing his arms in contempt. "In the mean time, I'll try and think of something to say."

The purple haired woman gave a sincere smile at her student's words. "She'll probably talk to you soon, knowing how tough and resilient she is."

With those words, the conversation was dropped. Goku and Yugao hurried up to the group traveling with them. Silence filled the group, and everyone remained in their own thoughts. Goku, especially, spent his time pondering/thinking.

After a few more hours, the group set up camp again. Yugao had the first watch as her students slept until their turn...or tried to sleep. Hinata stayed up all night until her turn, just staring blankly into space, her head clouded with numerous thoughts.

 **-Later On With Hinata-**

"Um...G-Goku?"

Goku woke up from his sleep with a loud yawn. He brushed off his tiredness as quickly as he could and turned to look at the source of his 'wake up call', Hinata.

"I-It's your turn to do watch..." The girl informed him quietly. Goku noticed Hinata revert back to her soft and stuttering persona and frowned. He wanted to do something to help her, but he remembered his sensei's words from earlier.

"Okay, thanks Hinata!" He told her politely as he got up from his sleeping bag and started to look around for any possible threats.

The Saiyan genin continued his watch for a few minutes until he noticed that Hinata had never went back to sleep. She remained sitting, just staring at him, as if she was conflicted within her mind.

Goku realized something then and there. _'...Does she want to talk? To hell with it, I'm gonna talk to her rather Sensei likes it or not!'_

The boy channeled his Ki inside his mind to feel out for any energy in the area, and found none. Finding out that the coast was clear, he walked over to his female friend.

"Hinata?" He asked quietly.

"G-Goku?" She responded back, hesitantly.

"You okay Hinata? What are you still doing up?" He asked. Goku felt he needed to make sure she really did want to talk. He didn't want to hurt her or make her feel worse than she already did, even though he wasn't the consolation type person.

"Ah...um...I'm having trouble sleeping..." She stated. "Um, and...I can't...stop thinking...about killing those...people!"

Hinata couldn't continue with whatever she wanted to say. Her tears were starting to come, and try as she might she couldn't stop all of them. She immediately grabbed onto the nearby Goku and pulled him closer to her as she let some of her pent-up emotions fall. She then started to cry softly into his navy blue T-shirt, burrowing her head against his chest.

As if by instinct, Goku hugged the girl tight against him. He started to pat his hand on Hinata's back repeatedly in an attempt to calm her down. He didn't say anything. He knew this much, she simply had to release her fluctuating emotions right now.

The two stayed in that position, with no sounds made except for Hinata's sniffing. After about one to two minutes, Hinata started to calm down and stopped crying, instead having a blank facial expression.

"Sorry about that..." Hinata apologized.

"You don't hafta apologize for anything Hinata. You can talk to me, you know that," Goku informed her, now rubbing her back to try to soothe her. "If anyone should be sorry, then it's me. I'm sorry about what happened..."

"...Don't be." The girl sniffed. "...I shouldn't be either. We're ninja. This is what we do and live for. It's just..."

"Hinata, although we're ninja, we also have emotions. It's only natural to feel this way about killing someone, or rather anyone," Goku replied.

"It's just...that man had a family. He had a life. And I ended it with a launched kunai. I..." Hinata continued to sniffle, though she resolved not to start crying again. She was stronger than this, and she knew it, having left her soft side behind for years.

"Hinata, that man would have tried to kill Bulma. She has a family too and an extremely valuable life. You helped keep our client alive," The boy stated. He moved his hand away from her back and placed some stray bangs coming from her short hair away from her eyes. "You helped save a life in return."

Hinata's sniffling died down; however, the girl still looked troubled though. Goku gave it a little more thought before he spoke again.

"We're ninja. This is what we gotta do, but we do so to protect others. It could be clients, civilians, our teammates...even each other. I don't like it either, but it's what we signed up for and it's the hellified world we live in," He stated sincerely, giving off a smile. "Hinata, you're stronger than this. You're a true shinobi regardless and someone I'm glad to call my comrade and friend. Believe that."

The Hyuga heiress's troubled look seemed to completely vanish. She looked over at her friend in complete awe at everything he had just told her.

 _'Amazing...Goku...you really are a one-of-a-kind.'_ She thought to herself, a faint blush starting to form on her face again. A smile soon joined that blush as she rid herself of any remaining stray tears.

"Goku...thank you, for everything. I don't know what I would do without you right now.." The girl told him. Her tone of voice was much more relaxed, confident and much more of the normal Hinata.

"No problem, I'd like to hope you'd do the same for me too," Goku replied back with a grin, and then he heard the Hyuga yawn under her breath.

"Heh, looks like you're tired." Goku pointed out with a more playful smile.

"Yeah...I am. Sleep would be great..." Hinata thought tiredly.

"Rest up, Hinata. I'll see ya tomorrow, okay?" The boy told her.

"Kay." Hinata replied. She then, pushed to action by instinct, walked over to her friend and gave him a small hug. "Goodnight Goku. Thanks so much for everything, you really helped me feel better."

The girl then went back to her sleeping bag, leaving a slightly blushing boy behind. Goku eventually shook off the blush, and gained a normal sized grin on his face, and went back to his watch duties with his energy sensing. He was relieved that his friend was feeling better and back to normal again. Hinata, herself, laid down within her sleeping bag. For the first time in the past few hours, she was smiling, and she found it rather easy to sleep now.

 **-The Next Three Days-**

Three more days passed by. They had finally reached the area of Taki no Kuni, but they were not done with their mission. The group continued to travel on the road. Their journey didn't end until they reached a giant metal gate that was inside a mountain that went straight through the back of it into the large technological city known as Mirai Toshi. And the problem was that it required them going around numerous large mountains just to get to that point.

"We're finally in Taki no Kuni," Yugao told the group with an undertone of excitement.

"Yes, we're almost there!" Goku said, exasperated by how boring the trip was while they were running with the mo-pad. "It felt like it took forever to finally get here!"

"Wait, we have some company!" Hinata exclaimed, her Byakugan picking up a very strong chakra signature in the area. "And it's very powerful."

"She's right," Goku stated, his instincts picking up on the strong energy presence nearby. He grinned, thrilled to see a potential fight come towards him so he could test out his abilities against the some of the best competition possible, even if said competition was trying to kill them. "He's powerful enough to be a real threat to us."

Hiding in the shrubbery and masking their energy, ready to ambush their opposition. When the person in a dark robe with crimson clouds appeared, they pounced, or at least they tried to. The missing-nin, too good to be caught in a simple trap, leaped away quickly.

"Hmph, looks like Konoha trash is here too. I didn't plan on this." Oroka grumbled. "I'm looking for another Konoha team with the alien child, but they haven't shown up. But it doesn't matter; you'll perish all the same!"

He then took a hard look at the new Konoha shinobi. His eyes seemed to focus on Hinata and Goku in particular, however. _'Hmm...those eyes. She's a Hyuga. And no seal? Unsealed Byakugan huh, new eyes just waiting for me! And that brat must be the alien kid everyone's talking about...I'll capture him after I beat him to within an inch of life!'_

"Goku, stand back." Yugao ordered her student as she stood in front of her team. She didn't want her student to be the first one this man attacked when the fighting started. "We're here to escort the client Bulma Briefs back to her home. Now, who are you? Why do I feel the hostile vibe emanating from you? Tell us this and leave, and we'll leave you alone in return."

' _This man was last recorded as an A-ranked missing-nin from Iwa six years ago, so he must be really tough. I'll need to take this serious.'_ Yugao noted as she studied the man in front of her. _'He could very well be an S-ranked missing-nin now, so I might need my team to assist me.'_

"Hmph, such arrogance. Think you can order me around Uzuki Yugao?" Oroka noted in amusement. Yugao's eyes narrowed at having her name called out. "If you are going to interfere, then I guess I'll just have to kill you too. I recognize you from the bingo book, and you have a bounty worth quite a bit of Ryo."

The Konoha genin got into position, ready to fight at any moment. Yugao got into her own personal stance while she continued to study the men in front of her, trying to identify them.

"Shut the hell up, if you want to kill our Sensei you'll have to deal with us first," Goku retorted, glaring at his new adversary. He honestly didn't give a damn whom he was or what his reputation stated, he wasn't going to let what happened months ago happen again as long as he could still draw breath, EVER. He gathered his Ki on the inside, building it up to unleash it and attack this guy.

"Easier done then said, dumbass. You're dealing with me!" Oroka informed the Konoha shinobi as he continued to study them. The Konoha team then realized that they were going to have to fight Oroka, presumably to the death. Each member of Team Eight got into position again, ready to fight for their very lives.

"Before we begin though, are you the current Hyuga heiress?" The former Kumo ninja asked as he focused on Hinata.

The members of Team Eight turned to Hinata, wondering why the man wanted to know about her. Hinata was equally confused. "I was, but not anymore. What about it?"

"I was right then. You're the Hyuga Kumo tried to kidnap many years ago, weren't you?" Oroka questioned. Goku and Shikamaru's eyes widened at the information while Hinata was starting to get a bit unnerved. "You're a lucky girl that your daddy saved you. But your mom died afterwards, hehehehe! However, my mom couldn't be saved from being a sex slave unlike yours!"

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise. It was at this moment that Yugao realized something about the man in front of them.

"Ah, now I really remember who you are!" The Jonin stated. "Oroka, the distant cousin to Kirabi, the current Raikage's "younger brother" and Eight Tails Jinchuriki. You've got a very high bounty on your head from both Kumo and Iwa, as well as a kill on sight from Kumo."

Oroka laughed maniacally in response. "Bingo! You're looking at the man that will bring Kumogakure to its knees, then chop them off agonizingly. In just a few years, the clouds will be turned into a bloody mist of screams and agony, what a glamorous sight that will behold!"

"What did you mean about your mother?" Hinata asked quietly.

Oroka's laughter stopped and his eyes hardened as he glared at the Hyuga. "My mother possessed a rare bloodline limit that Kumo wanted genetically made, the **Ranton**. And unlike you, she had no one to save her from being kidnapped."

"What?" The former heiress pondered. "That's despicable-"

"Disgusting? Immoral? Fucked up? Complete bullshit? Hell yeah it was!" The Akatsuki member nearly screamed. "That damn village put her in a fucking breeding program. It simply got too much for her and she ended up killing herself shortly after my younger brothers were born. They were too young to really understand what the hell was happening, but I knew. I saw it. I saw her body hanging from the ceiling in our own damn apartment, hung!" Oroka's voice continued to get louder with each sentence as his rage increased. "It's all Kumo's fault, and they will pay with their lives! First with their Jinchuriki and Kage, and then with their village itself! The Akatsuki will ensure that it will come to fruition!"

All of the Konoha genin were surprised at the venom in the man's voice. Hinata, in particular, was miffed and disturbed by the news. _'His mother…could that have been me? If father didn't save me…would I have been raped for the Byakugan?'_

"The Akatsuki?!" Yugao questioned.

"Anyway, none of that matters. I'm getting way off topic here!" Oroka stated, calming himself down a bit. The former Kumo shinobi undid his robe as he continued to speak. "We have a fight to do, and I need to murder you all."

Underneath the Akatsuki robe, Oroka wore a dark, burgundy gi and pants that clung tightly to his slim body. Over his gi was a grey bag with more white lightning rods sticking out of it. Oroka took out two lightning rods and held both of his rods up to the sky.

" **Ranton: Kuchiyose no J** **utsu**!"

Thunder could be heard from the sky above. Lightning flashes were also visible. What once was a clear, sunny sky was replaced with black clouds with visible lightning traveling between the clouds. The thunder continued to get louder each second, and the lightning stung their eyes.

"Goku, Hinata, Shikamaru: stay back, protect Bulma at all costs and keep your guard up! This guy is way out of your league." Yugao informed them as she made a hand sign. "Leave the heavy fighting to me for now."

Satisfied with the storm above him, Oroka lowered his lightning rods. He pointed one towards Yugao and released a bolt of lightning at her. The Anbu/Jonin jumped out of the way as her students backed up to avoid the blast. The purple-haired Kunoichi then faced Oroka and took in a deep breath before releasing a giant fireball from her mouth to go straight at him.

"Katon Jutsu? Seriously? What the fuck do you take me for?" Oroka scoffed as he jumped backwards to avoid the flame. "I'll show you a true jutsu!"

Oroka unleashed another bolt of lightning from his white lightning rod towards Yugao. Said person only retaliated with more fireballs, waiting for the opportunity to attempt to kill her opponent with her Anbu sword. The two shinobi continued to dodge the others' attacks while remaining on the offensive.

Yugao's genin students stayed at the edge of the battlefield, watching their sensei fight her opponent in a state of awe and surprise. At the same time, though, they were looking for an opening.

' _If Yugao-Sensei can get an opening for us, we can take it. We can help kill this guy quickly and swiftly.'_ Shikamaru noted as his eyes remained glued to the fight. His other teammates were thinking along the same lines. ' _Still…I'm curious about that thunderstorm. What is that Kumo guy going to do with it?"_ He questioned, trying to work out what was going on.

" **Katon** **: Hosenka no Jutsu**!"

Yugao unleashed multiple fireballs flying directly at Oroka. The former Kumo shinobi responded by holding up his lightning rods to the sky.

" **Ranton** **: Kaminari no Tate**!" He shouted as his lightning rods started to light up.

Blue, natural lightning fell down from the sky and struck the lightning rods. The lightning then burst from the rods and formed a protective shield around the storm user. Yugao's fireballs made contact with the lightning shield and faded away immediately after contact.

"You're starting to kind of bore me, ya know? I actually wanted enjoy a good fight before I ended your life, so try and entertain me!" Oroka taunted as he lowered one of his lightning rods and pointed it at Yugao.

The blue lightning surrounding him was immediately channeled into the lightning rod and shot towards the Konoha Jonin. Yugao barely jumped out of the way in time as the lightning caused a massive explosion on the ground, causing debris to scatter and hit her. The woman grunted in pain before she got out of the way of the debris and held her hands in the cross seal. _' **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!'_

Two clones appeared from within the cloud of smoke and shot forwards at Oroka. They moved at a speed faster than her fireballs and made contact with the Akatsuki member, swords drawn. Both of them swung for the man's arms, but only sliced the lightning rods, knocking them away. The two clones then attempted to finish off the rogue shinobi, but only managed a few nicks here and there as the man was just that damn skilled.

Oroka glared at Yugao as he stood his ground. He then closed his eyes before he channeled his chakra into his hands. The sheer voltage of his storm chakra caused the clones attacking him to be dispelled, setting him free from assault. The man then reached into his bag to take out two more rods when he noticed kunai were fired at him. He immediately jumped out of the way before he turned to face Anko's genin, whom were all poised ready to strike at him. Hinata, in particular, had her crossbow ready and projectiles lit with blue chakra on the weapon.

"Eager to die aren't you? I was gonna kill you three after your Sensei was dead, but I'll be happy to kill you all now if you want!" He hissed menacingly.

"I'd like to see if you can!" Goku replied without fear as he unleashed his light-blue fiery aura, making the winds pick up the pace. "I'm coming for ya. HAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The three genin were surrounded by a larger aura, showcasing Goku's full unruly power. The Saiyan didn't waste a second before charging directly at the Akatsuki, and Shikamaru followed closely behind.

"Huh, what kinda energy is this? Interesting. Maybe you'll be fun after all." Kyoi smirked as he made a few hand signs. He then pointed his lightning rods at the genin. " **Ranton: Rezasakasu**!"

Multiple beams of blue lightning were released from the lightning rods and went towards the approaching group. The Saiyan noticed this, and took his team out of harms way at the last second, leaving many afterimages to fade away into the lightning.

Hinata shot many projectiles powered by chakra from her sword at the man while Shikamaru threw kunai that had explosive tags attached to them. When Oroka noticed them, he stopped his jutsu to get out of the way from the incoming attacks. This gave Goku the opportunity to get in close to the man, intent on testing his Taijutsu. The Saiyan raised his fists and prepared to beat him down into submission.

Oroka quickly held his lightning rods up and used his **Ranton** **: Kaminari no Tate**. The blue lightning surrounded him before Goku landed a successful blow at him. By the time he was about to strike again, he was attacked by the lightning around him. Goku was sent flying backwards in pain, electricity moving all throughout his body. Shikamaru caught him before he could be launched any further back.

Oroka dropped his lightning shield and channeled his lightning into his lightning rods. He pointed them at the Konoha genin, ready to kill them for their troubles. Before he could release the lightning, however, Yugao got in close and delivered a swift kick to his face. Oroka fell to the ground and accidentally released all of the charged lightning in a random direction, hitting none of his targets. Yugao immediately jumped on top of the Akatsuki member, a slight smirk on her face tugging on her lips.

"Careless, weren't you?" Yugao taunted as she swiftly unsheathed her sword. "It's over!"

Yugao plunged her sword downwards with great force, making direct contact with the man on the ground. Oroka's body was impaled and he appeared dead, before it faded away, leaving nothing but a small lightning rod and blue lightning in its place. The blue lightning then charged angrily at Yugao, making the Jonin pick up her sword and jump out of the way as quick as she could.

"Damnit, it was simple **Bunshin**!" She cursed before her eyes wandered the battlefield. "Okay, where are you now?"

Oroka responded by jumping out of a tree near the edge of the forest and released his **Ranton: Rezasakasu**. All of the beams of natural lightning were aimed specifically at the Anbu converted jonin.

"Yugao-Sensei, look out!" Goku said as he got up from his position in Shikamaru's arms and charged up his most powerful attack as quickly as possible. " **KamehameHA**!"

Goku let out a powerful, cerulean wave of Ki that collided with the multiple beams of lightning, causing the vast majority of them to fade away in an ensuing explosion. That tactic gave Yugao all the time she needed to avoid the remaining lightning beams with a quick **Shunshin** and join up with her students.

"Nice work, that attack would've ended badly for me if it wasn't for the stunt you pulled Goku," Yugao praised her student, an appreciative smile on her face.

Goku nodded in acceptance whilst consuming air at a rapid pace before focusing back on the Akatsuki member.

"He seems impossible to hit at close range because he always uses that shield technique to block any close-range attacks. I'm also too far away to actually use my **Kagemane Jutsu's** on him. Guess we have to keep up the long range, or make an opening so that one of us can get in and strike him down hard." Shikamaru informed his squad, thinking of another plan just in case.

Hinata nodded in agreement. "Shikamaru and I can keep attacking from a distance for now. Goku and Yugao-Sensei may be able to take advantage of any opening we can create and hopefully stop him for good."

"I don't care, I'm goin' in like a savage," Goku joked a bit, though he was seriously going to attack at close-range regardless of the signs obviously saying not to. "In all seriousness, I'm gonna fight him using Taijutsu and try to create an opening. If you see any openings, feel free to use em' and help me."

"That's how we have to handle him, good plan." Yugao noted, gripping onto her sword tightly. "We're doing good thus far, we just have to keep it up!"

The Konoha shinobi stopped discussing among themselves and prepared to strike again. Hinata prepared her crossbow while Shikamaru reached for more kunai. Yugao and Goku were ready to get in close and dominate him with a onslaught of physical attacks.

' _Damn them! Every time I'm about to kill one of them, another one intervenes. This is pissing me off! Why does every Konoha shinobi have to act like a fuckin hero all the fuckin time?!'_ Oroka grumbled in his head. _'I've wasted plenty of chakra already in this fight. If I actually want to win, I'm gonna have to kill them real soon, like right now! No more playing around: let's finish this once and for all._ _'_

The Saiyan however, had different plans. He blazed on towards the opposition, avoiding the few blasts shot from the lightning rods and pressing the missing-nin. He evaded two consecutive strings of Raiton, but they were just distractions for the much bigger Ranton blast underneath. Seeing this, Goku unleashed a full strength **Kiai** Wave at the potent lightning before charging full speed ahead. When the much larger wave of Ranton impacted Goku, instead of launching him backwards in intense pain, the Saiyan kept charging forward with the help of his **Kiai** , heavily deterred. Though it messed up his shirt and would ultimately leave him smoking with burns and agony, he bit back the obvious pain and continued trudging through to get to his powerful enemy.

Suddenly, Oroka felt a string of explosions occur around his vicinity, shooting him straight into the sky in pain from the impact. He cursed himself, obviously forgetting about the boy's Sensei and letting himself be hit by a surprise Fuinjutsu attack.

Too surprised at what had just occurred, he received a powerful fist that packed an intense wallop. It appeared that Goku jumped from his spot on the ground dozens of meters away, and _shellacked_ his opponent hard enough to create a shock-wave that rolled throughout the air, sounding literally like a miniature thunderclap. This sent Oroka flying into the air, the force of the blow causing blood to cascade from his nose and lips, his vision getting blurry. Those were the obvious symptoms of a concussion, apparent to anyone else watching.

The Akatsuki member rolled on the ground, clutching his face and swearing like a madman. The Saiyan crashed into the ground right below where he had leaped and rose to one knee, panting at his exertion and extra-extra effort. What he had just did was very reckless, and he was lucky to have a body as durable as his. It was as if he was made for the slugged, drown out, hard-fought battles like these. If he was anyone else, he most likely would've experienced serious injury or even risked death, but he wasn't everyone else. However, that didn't stop him from being in some intense pain from the intensity of the blast.

"Alright, let's finish this." Yugao informed her team. "Shikamaru, Hinata: you guys get us one more opening in case he get's back up. Goku, I know it's very hard, but try to keep doing what you're doing for just a little longer."

The three genin nodded at their sensei's words before they went with their plan. Hinata and Shikamaru attacked from a distance with their weapons while Yugao and Goku proceeded to get closer, mostly the former than the latter.

Oroka dodged all of the attacks coming his way, not going to underestimate them, especially the gaki known as Goku, any longer. After a few seconds, the man jumped backwards and raised his lightning rods upward. Goku and Yugao stopped their movement, waiting to see what the man was going to do before getting any closer.

" **Ranton: Raiu Boko**!" He screamed. The lightning rods lit up once again, and he expended nearly all of his chakra on this attack, intent on killing them all. The sound of thunder started to get louder, causing all of the Konoha shinobi to feel pain in their ears. Soon after, numerous bolts of natural lightning rained down from the sky and fell down throughout the battlefield, striking in several areas.

"Damnit!" Yugao cursed as she immediately made a hand sign for the **Shunshin**. "Everyone, get out of here right now!"

Yugao's words and her jutsu came too late. The blue lightning struck down before they could react, hitting all of the Konoha shinobi with the force of an actual thunderbolt. All four ninjas screamed in pain before they fell to the ground. Storm created electricity found itself visible all around the squad of shinobi. And then another, and another one. And one more after that, making four consecutive blasts of Ranton sent to smitten them.

The four shinobi tried to stand up after the lightning assault, but each one found out that they couldn't. No matter how much energy they put into it, they couldn't get up.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked in a voice mixed with unimaginable pain and agony, struggling to even move her mouth. Her black jacket was jacked, and it burnt right off of her body, leaving her silver skin-tight sleeveless shirt with mesh-armor underneath on her. And her hair really looked unruly and unkempt now, more than ever. Goku didn't receive any changes to his clothing, only that he gained much more pain to put on top of his pain from the first blast, making him nigh paralyzed. He swore he couldn't move in the slightest. The other two, Yugao and Shikamaru, weren't necessary as bad but their clothes were charred a fair bit as well.

"I…I can't move!" Shikamaru gasped. "Damnit!"

"N-No…no..." Goku urged to himself, despite how battered he was. "Errgh...eh...uggh, come on… get up...k-keep...going..."

"Give up. It's useless." Oroka replied nonchalantly as he approached the Konoha shinobi. The man was breathing in and out harshly, as if the jutsu he used took a lot out of him, but he was smirking. "That technique of mine paralyzes anything it hits. Granted it's only for a limited time, but you will all will be history before it fades. Besides, I went a little extra on the jutsu, striking you multiple times than it's usual one strike!"

' _History?! No, I can't die right now! It's too soon!'_ Goku shouted in his mind as he fought to rise up. _'I can't let him kill my friends!' It's not gonna end this way!_ '

' _DAMNIT!'_ Yugao cursed as she struggled in her paralysis. _'This isn't how it's going to end, I won't let him kill_ any _of my students! It's my job to protect them and I'll do my fucking job until I can't. So come on Yugao, you've go to MOVE!'_

Oroka chuckled. "And despite my words, you all still try to move. Just stop. Relax and try to enjoy your last moments while you can." He said as he walked towards Hinata. "Anyway, I'll start with you Hyuga. Oh, and don't fret, at least you'll join your mother before I do."

Hinata gasped in fear as her attempts to move increased. She still couldn't move. The girl started to panic slightly, not going to give in to the pandemonium threatening to consume her, although realization started creeping over her. _'I'm sorry everyone…I can't do anything damnit…and I guess...this is the end...'_

"If it's any consolation, when I kill you, I'm going to take your eyes. That way any other village won't be able to take your bloodline for their own, as I'll destroy those eyes if I somehow can't destroy Kumo or Iwa." Oroka informed Hinata as he grabbed her by her jacket. He placed the tip of a lightning styled kunai he possessed by her throat.

' _He's…he's gonna kill Hinata. HE'S GONNA FUCKING KILL HER!_ ' Goku screamed in his head as he continued to struggle against his paralysis, his pain going strong on him.

 _'Are you going to let him do that? Are you just going to watch him kill her?'_ A voice in Goku's head asked. He looked up and saw someone in the distance with the same haircut as him, and older than he was as well. He had black and green armor, a brown furry tail just like his was years ago, black and green boots with red socks, and a blood red headband wrapped around his cranium. He had a scar on his cheek, and if Goku said so himself they looked exactly alike.

' _No, NO… **NO**!' _ He roared in reply, angry at the predicament.

' _Th _en_ stop fueling your mind with thoughts on the pain and the doubt within yourself. It's only holding you back, so use your rage at the moment and let it all out. Use it to stop him and save her_.' The voice spoke, starting to get louder. An image of the man appeared right in front of his face, and he saw the striking familiarity. It was as if he saw the man before at one point in his life, it was feeling that he couldn't shake off.

 _'_ _Use your rage…'_

' ** _TO KILL HIM_** _!_ ' Goku and the man spoke in unison.

Sky-blue wisps of Ki immediately formed around Goku, and he managed to push himself back up to his feet despite the adversity, veins apparent on his body. His eyes turned blank with rage and his brows narrowed at Oroka, his muscles bulged a little and his aura became unstable.

Yugao, despite her semi-paralyzed state, noticed Goku's Ki developing. _'What the hell is this?! How can he still move after all of those attacks?_ _Come on body, just MOVE!'_

Oroka was about to slit Hinata's throat when he noticed a new, unstable energy developing around him. "What the fuck is that?" He mumbled as he turned his head to face its source.

Goku was slowly loosening up, breaking out of his paralysis little by little. The more he turned around, the more his new appearance developed. An aura of unrelenting sky-colored ki flowed out of him and into the air, with his eyes completely blank and his muscles bulged, making him look intimidating. Not to mention the bestial growls, grunts and the glare that went straight at Oroka. Speaking of the Akatsuki member, at that point he knew it was going to be one helluva fight to survive now.

' _That…there's absolutely no fucking way! He shouldn't be able to break out of that paralysis! No human can!'_ Oroka's eyes widened in shock. _'Just_ _what the hell is he? No…it can't be. It's that unknown brat from the stars that bastard Zetsu informed us about! FUCK!'_

Finally free from the paralysis, Goku wasted no time in charging at Oroka with even faster speed than before, appearing as a blur to the disorientated rogue. Oroka had no time to react properly: Goku was already in front of him in a few seconds. The Saiyan delivered a powerful, rage-fueled fist that rocketed into the face of the former village shinobi. He was catapulted backwards, dropping his lightning rods, the kunai and Hinata in the process. The girl hit the ground with a pronounced thump.

"G-Goku?" She mumbled in shock, both from Goku saving her and from the teens current physical state. "It's okay...I'm okay now..."

The words from the Hyuga actually registered into Goku's mind, and his blank eyes reverted back to normal, his unstable aura relenting. "Thank Kami...now all I have to do is hold him off long enough for help, or defeat him once and for all..."

Oroka landed on the ground near the forest by the bridge, rising up as quickly as he could to attempt to gather himself midst the physical punishment he dealt with the whole fight. Goku may have reverted back to normal, but he was still glaring at him angrily through his ebony pupils and was poised to attack him.

' _No, no! Alien or not, he must die! I will not let him kill me! It won't end like this! It's time for those damn pests to die, all or nothing!'_ The Akatsuki member declared as he pulled out two lightning rods from his pocket. Goku noticed the man's lightning rods, and grabbed Hinata just in case they had to evade the attack.

" **Ranton: Kaminari no jikkō**!"

The storm in the sky rained down blue natural lightning that went straight for Goku and Hinata. Knowing that he was too exhausted to maneuver out of the way of incoming blast of lightning, he gently laid the female on the ground and cupped his hands to his sides, cerulean Ki manifesting itself within his palms. " **KamehameHAAAAAAAAAA**!"

The 'Turtle Destruction Wave' collided head-on with the intense lightning, the attack made from the last little bit of chakra he had left. The two techniques held each other in a standstill, one competing to overwhelm the other in the clash of willpower.

' _No…my attack should have plowed through that blast upon impact. He should not have the power to be able to fight back damnit!'_ Oroka noted, fear starting to take over his panicked/alarmed mind. _'I…I've wasted too much chakra in this fight, and my jutsu's strength is based on my chakra. If this keeps up…then-'_

Oroka's thoughts were interrupted as the blast overpowered the lightning, bursting straight through it and turning the Ranton attack into a bunch of sparks. However, he was saved by the fact that Goku himself couldn't sustain the attack any longer, and it exploded abruptly, the waves of force that rolled off of it slamming into Oroka. Said shinobi then made direct contact with a tree, knocking all of the breath out of him.

' _Shit…Pein-Sama…I failed…please, destroy Kumo for me…'_ He thought. _'However...I won't go out like a bitch...I will be remembered damnit!'_

He sat up even more groggily than before, and threw his last lightning rod near the aliens near-collapsed form, Goku being down on one knee. Oroka made one hand-seal midst laughing, knowing that he wasn't simply going to die alone. He remained complacent on the ground, clinging to life by a few threads and watching the extraterrestrial become electrocuted.

Goku himself felt his blood electrocute, carrying it all throughout his body. He lurched backwards and screamed, his Ki fluxing sporadically and his body literally conducting electricity as if he were copper. The sheer voltage of the electricity disrupted the interval functions of his nerves, stinging them but not completely frying them for one reason only that was unbeknownst to everyone on the planet: Goku was a SAIYAN, not a HUMAN.

Oroka's paralysis started to fade away in his teammates' bodies. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Yugao, whom had been struggling to get up, were finally able to stand freely and get moving. Two of the three Konoha shinobi immediately hurried over to Goku as quickly as they could. The paralysis was still affecting them, however, causing their movements to be slower than usual.

Yugao on the other hand used the **Shunshin** to reach her still alive enemy, sword drawn. Before he could say a word, the female Anbu/Jonin sliced right through his neck, decapitating him without remorse. That marked the end of Oroka, as further implicated by the summoned storm fading away into nothing but the normal, sky-blue color. She then ran towards her student whom was screaming from some agonizing pain at the moment.

After thirty more seconds, all three of them eventually got over to Goku and were surprised at the sight of the teen in his convulsing form.

"G-Goku?" Shikamaru questioned. "What the hell happened?"

Goku turned his attention to the Konoha shinobi. Relief appeared in his eyes, knowing that all of his friends were okay and still alive despite Oroka's best efforts. However, the instincts he always felt but never knew about were still a frenzy, and the pain made it that much worse.

Hinata took a slow step forward toward her fellow shinobi. Her eyes were filled with plenty of concern now that she saw Goku in the anguish he was in.

"Goku, you don't have to struggle anymore, Yugao killed that man. We're done fighting," Hinata told him as softly as she could. "It's all over, you can rest now."

The words seemed to reach the Saiyan over the pierce electric sound in his ears, and he fell into the awaiting arms of Hinata. He found himself battered and bruised to the core, unable to go on any longer. He glanced up at the person holding him, and he looked at her with both eyes exhausted half closed.

"Eh...sorry Hinata...I'm think I'm...gonna take a long nap," Goku said with exasperation and drowsiness in his voice, closing his eyes and falling unconscious. His appearance was a mess, his Gi all messed up, his hair smoked and unkempt even more, his body littered with scorches and scars, and his muscles unhealthily vibrating. He needed medical treatment, but what he truly required right now was rest. And everyone knew that, seeing the type of battle they had just went through. This was a great wake-up call, they all had much more improving to do if they were going to survive in this world against world-class threats. Even with their Sensei and Goku, they nearly died and sure would have if Oroka hadn't acted like his namesake and 'stupidly' use multiple smites of lightning and instead of just using one. It was luck, and all of them realized that.

 **-Three Days Later-**

The first thing Goku registered was a bright light. The teen winced in pain, the light blinding him. Only after a few seconds when the light started to fade did the boy see or feel anything else. The Saiyan realized he was lying on grass near a campsite located within some forest close to the mountains. To the far left of his peripheral vision, he could see a large river made itself known as the border between Taki no Kuni and the edge of Hi no Kuni, revealing to the boy where he was.

' _Guess I'm still in Taki no Kuni.'_ He noted. The boy then gripped his head for a second, a throbbing headache being apparent. _'Ugh, my head hurts. How long have I been asleep for?'_

Goku started to sit up a bit, but he started to feel pain all over his body. The boy was now simply sitting up in the grass a little bit instead of laying down. With his new position, Goku could now see where he was better and was also able to see he wasn't the only one in the area. He also noticed the wrapping of his forehead, a large cast on his left arm, and bandages for his legs, but they weren't wrapped up.

Hinata and Shikamaru were standing by a tree near the boy. The two were engaged in discussion, having not noticed their friend woke up.

"Shikamaru, we need to get better at teamwork," Hinata informed her friend. "If we ever run into someone like that again, we need to be more cohesive."

"Eh, you're right, but what're we gonna work on?" Shikamaru shrugged in response. "It's troublesome, but seeing how close to death we were, I'm feeling motivated."

"Good. Maybe we should work on our elemental affinities when we get back home," She suggested.

"Yeah, it seems like a ton of work." He replied dully. "But if it means we can survive these troublesome missions, then I'm all for it."

"Heh, so Shikamaru's got some motivation for once?" Goku asked out of nowhere, finally making his presence known.

Shikamaru and Hinata immediately stopped conversing with each other and faced Goku. Both of them had a look of shock on their faces before excitement and relief came over them, causing them to rush over to his side.

"Goku, you're finally awake!" Hinata cheered with a loud smile. Goku returned her smile, but couldn't quite stand up, the pain making him hiss.

"Damnit, I can't get up," The Saiyan complained, scowling. "Sorry I'm kinda debilitated."

"Hey, be careful man. Don't stress your body too much," Shikamaru advised as he helped the Saiyan up, placing Goku's left arm around his shoulder so he could hoist him up without wasting too much energy.

"Thanks!" Goku said before a frown crept on his face. "How long have I been knocked out if you guys are this worried for me?"

"Three days," Hinata stated, assuaging her friends questions for now. "For a moment we thought you were in a coma."

"Damn, I guess I missed out on seeing 'Mirai Toshi' didn't I?" Goku said with a sigh, already knowing the answer. "Oh well, at least she's gonna make that training machine for me to use soon. So...tell me all about the city, I wanna know what it was like!"

And with that, the trio sat together around the fire, conversing and talking about events and trivial things as well. The typical team bonding protocol, to reflect upon the mission and what had happened during it.


	13. Nami no Kuni

_Chapter 13: Nami no Kuni_

* * *

 **-With Team Seven In The Morning-**

"Alright, for today's training...I think I'll have you each spar with me one-on-one. And for whoever's not sparring, watch and be prepared to comment on how it went afterwards." Kakashi put his scroll aside and cracked his neck and knuckles. His students looked at one another and then Naruto nodded.

"I'll go first," Naruto stepped forward, knowing the fight was to show how tough he was rather than to actually defeat Kakashi, but his resentment from the humiliation of the bell test remained. Kakashi settled into a loose stance.

"Begin!" Naruto proceeded to leap forward, landing on his right foot, and pivoted to begin with a snapping kick at the jounin's head. Kakashi blocked it easily, so Naruto followed up with a pair of vicious punches and once again, Kakashi deflected the blows. Naruto gnashed his teeth and spun around to deliver a back-fist, but Kakashi leaned away, and then went on the offensive.

Quickly, Naruto found himself ground down as Kakashi's quick blows rained towards him. He knocked away a kick and blocked a punch, but Kakashi's next attack, an uppercut, caught him in the stomach, driving the wind out from his lungs. Naruto coughed, but staggered back just in time to avoid Kakashi's next punch. He tried to launch a swing, but Kakashi was within his reach before he could do so and swept his legs from under him.

Naruto looked up from the ground, regaining his breath rapidly and shaking his scrambled head. Sasuke and Sakura looked on, the latter slightly surprised at how efficiently Kakashi had disabled Naruto's offensive maneuvers, which she remembered was wearing down every other student in their class barring Sasuke of course.

"Good showing Naruto, just a bit too rash. Sasuke, what are your thoughts?" Kakashi said pleasantly, helping Naruto up.

"He's too reckless. He goes in too quickly without any type of plan and doesn't know how to defend himself when the tables are turned. And his technique isn't complete trash, but it clearly needs work."

Naruto's eyes flashed in annoyance, pointing towards the Uchiha. "Oh like you could do any bet-"

"That's enough, Naruto. Sasuke's criticisms are accurate, if stated unnecessarily harshly. Sakura?" Emboldened by Sasuke, she spoke seriously as well.

"Naruto fights really quickly, I mean, he's faster than almost all of the people in our class, and he hits pretty hard too. He's also unpredictable, but there's something off about his technique, Sasuke-kun is right about that. His hits aren't doing as much damage as they should be, and he was too easy to take off balance."

Naruto slumped slightly at the brutal assessments, scratching his red-hair sheepishly. Kakashi patted his shoulder, though.

"Now Naruto, it's not entirely your fault. Sasuke is right, your technique is a little reckless, yet the main problem is that it doesn't fit you at all." Naruto looked up, surprised. "You, like Sakura I wager, use the basic Academy Taijutsu style. It's very effective for a certain body type, and particularly to learn further, much more advanced styles. However, while you're fairly lean, you have more muscle than most other gaki's your age. Not to mention that while you're only as tall as Sakura now, you have rather long limbs meaning you're probably going to grow fairly tall soon, meaning you'll need a suited style."

Naruto's eyes were wide. "So… It's not that I'm bad then, it's that I need a better style, right?"

Kakashi chuckled. "In a manner of speaking. You still need to work harder on perfecting your movements. Still, I'll see if I can't either teach you a style I know or find someone to do so. Sasuke, you're next."

As Naruto clambered to take a seat on the grass, Sasuke stood and settled into a stance Kakashi recognized well – the Intercepting Fist style of the Uchiha. Kakashi had a flashback to Obito in the same stance for a moment, but it didn't fit – Obito was clumsier and shorter, and didn't have quite as perfect a position. Though Kakashi himself usually used the same style, because of his adopted eye, Kakashi couldn't picture him in Sasuke's position either – even as a young man Kakashi hadn't had the sort of fire he saw in Sasuke's eyes.

"Begin!" Sasuke was moving forward before Kakashi finished his word, beginning with a quick knife hand meant to gauge an enemy's commitment. Kakashi let his head flow backwards, away from the attack, and countered with a shin-kick that Sasuke stepped away from. Sasuke tried to elbow Kakashi to open some space, but Kakashi was out of the way before the attack was in position, and jabbed Sasuke in the shoulder. The blow didn't do much, but set Sasuke up for a vicious knee strike that followed.

Sasuke, though, was perceptive enough to spot the attack and quick enough to step away from it. Kakashi slid along the slightly wet grass to his left, whirling a low kick under Sasuke's guard, forcing the boy to jump. Sasuke realized that he was vulnerable in the air, unable to dodge, and lifted his knees high to protect his torso – but that just set up him for the spinning wheel-kick Kakashi laid across his side. Though protected from the blow, Sasuke was carried several meters by the force of it and rolled along the ground with a gasp, picking himself up in time for Kakashi to almost appear before him.

Sasuke hurled himself back, avoiding Kakashi's spear-hand, but it had been a decoy to begin with; Kakashi slammed the same hand downward, landing it into Sasuke's abdomen. The boy's attempt to reinforce his abdominal muscles with chakra weren't enough, and Sasuke was left wheezing. Kakashi helped him up and they walked back to where Sakura stood, color in her cheeks, and Naruto sat grinning.

"Excellent performance, Sasuke. Now Sakura, what did you see."

"Sasuke-kun had great form! He reacted to your attacks and took opportunities wherever he saw them!" Kakashi's raised eyebrow quelled her a bit, and Sakura thought hard. "But… he was arrogant. He should have been more careful and smarter when judging your attacks, especially after seeing you fight Naruto."

Sasuke, who'd expected nothing but empty praise from the girl, had a pleasantly shocked look on his face. Naruto was openly surprised, but at Kakashi's look closed his mouth and coughed slightly.

"Right…uh…he had solid technique, but he went on the attack when it looked like his style was all about defending and countering. It's like Sasuke wasn't…I dunno… using it properly." Sasuke's eyes flashed with venom, but before a spat could erupt Kakashi spoke up.

"That's extremely insightful, Naruto and yes, Sasuke's style, his family's style, in fact, is meant for defense and counterattack. Sasuke, am I correct in suspecting that since your family, you've been teaching yourself, probably from scrolls?" Sasuke nodded grimly. "That's what I thought. As Naruto said, your problem is mainly that you're using your family's counterattacking style like the Academy's more typically offensive style – and that it doesn't fit is obvious. Luckily for you, I happen to know your family's style well enough to correct your errors."

Sasuke frowned in confusion. "Wait, but how? How do you know…?"

"I fought alongside many Uchiha during the war and one was my closest friend. It stands to reason that I'd know their style well." Kakashi felt slightly guilty about not quite answering Sasuke's question, but it was better to avoid discussing his implanted eye until a more appropriate time. Much like Naruto's condition, it was a disruptive issue that could be handled once some groundwork had been laid down. Sasuke seemed to accept Kakashi's word for now.

"I understand. So, I don't need to give up my style?" Though Sasuke asked the question neutrally, Kakashi could hear the hot blood behind it. The Intercepting Fist was probably one of the few things left to Sasuke after his clan's demise – it was unsurprising that he didn't want to lose it.

"No. Your style suits you, as it does most Uchiha. While you may need to retrain in some techniques and tactics, the style itself is adequate." Kakashi turned to his final student, who stared nervously. "Come Sakura, let's not waste any time."

Sakura stepped up to face him, entering the Academy starting position, much like Naruto but with a less ragged stance. Kakashi lowered himself and called out, "Begin!"

Kakashi's last student, unlike her teammates, did not attack first, but waited for Kakashi to move for her. He didn't keep her waiting, having expected this, and lashed out with a quick head-level roundhouse kick. Sakura ducked underneath and tried to lance a thrusting kick at Kakashi's stable leg, but the jounin easily bunny-hopped over it before swinging his overhead leg into an ax kick downward. Sakura dodged sideways, raising her fists, and swung as hard as she could. Kakashi blocked her first blow and leaned away from her second as the girl pressed her perceived advantage. Another kick swung low towards his knee, and Kakashi simply lifted his leg, jarring Sakura's kick with his shin.

Sakura's pained expression gave him an opportunity to move in with a flurry of swings and elbow attacks, forcing the girl away. Sakura was clearly already tiring, and Kakashi decided to end it, moving in with a nasty elbow strike to Sakura's shoulder. However, the tired girl responded with an angry swing that almost connected with the Jounin's head – and even with his arm raised to block the strike, Kakashi felt the chakra-enhanced blow jar his position. Nonetheless, that attack seemed to have been Sakura's last legs, so to speak, as Kakashi's next sweep knocked the girl's position away and left her on her back.

Naruto whooped, while Sasuke simple waited silently. Kakashi helped Sakura back to her feet. "You know the drill by now – Naruto, you first."

Naruto sobered, even as he spoke. "Well, Sakura-chan had really good form, of course! However, she got tired really fast, and that cost her. But there was that one hit near the end that looked pretty tough!" Sakura smiled wryly at Naruto's commentary, but then turned to Sasuke.

"Sakura is a weakling. Naruto's comments regarding her final attack were accurate, but her attacks other than that one had little effect and she tired way too quickly to capitalize on anything." Sasuke, arms crossed, spoke quietly, but he might as well have shouted. Sakura's eyes filled with tears from the sharp words and Kakashi frowned. Naruto hopped up, annoyed at Sasuke's blunt cruelty.

"Hey Teme, there's no need to talk like that about her! Sakura-chan isn't a weak-"

"No, he's right…" Sakura said soberly. "I…I need to exercise even more. Except for when I pushed as much chakra as I could into that last hit, Sensei didn't even really have to block any of my attacks."

Kakashi spoke up. "Still Sasuke, you should speak more kindly towards your teammates." The boy nodded, and Sasuke had the grace to give Sakura a slightly apologetic look, even though he wouldn't take back what he said.

"Now that wraps up our short training session," Kakashi said. He then looked up at the sky before saying, "Well, it's time for or daily missions, let's get going."

The Jonin then took off in a sprint towards the Hokage tower, followed by Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. This was another part of their training: endurance and stamina. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke had to try and keep up with Kakashi's pace, who was using minimal amounts of chakra without pumping any chakra into their legs to speed them up. It would allow them to not only move faster when using bursts of chakra, but move faster when they didn't which proved to be a win-win situation. And of course, Naruto and Sasuke's weights played a factor as well.

The team reached the Hokage tower in record time, sprinting up the stairs, or in Kakashi's case running on the side of the wall, and breaching his office.

"We are ready for a mission Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, smiling at his genin. While they were panting, it wasn't as bad as they were when they had first done this exercise a little less than a month ago, which was when they were on the floor basically dying, and they had lost track of Kakashi.

"Well Kakashi-san, you really are working young Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura," Sarutobi said, smiling at their fatigued faces.

"They still have a lot of work to do," Kakashi said. "But they're making adequate progress so far."

"Tch," Sasuke remarked, getting a laugh out of the Hokage.

"Well, onto more important topics, we have several missions for you, like getting Lady Daimyo's cat aga-"

"NO!" The genin of Team Seven shouted, each of them drawing a kunai. While this could be considered an act of betrayal, neither the Anbu hidden in the room nor the Hokage moved. They understood why the were acting like that too after all as they too had done that mission as genin, and by the end of the day wanted to skin the cat alive, and all the other Genin teams wanted too as well, even though Hiruzen did it when another lady was the Daimyo's wife, and had a different cat. He was beginning to think those missions were cursed for all generations.

"Well then," Hiruzen said, laughing at them. "We have-"

"No," Naruto started, a firm tone in his voice. "I refuse to take any more of these shitty missions. This is just charity work, not fit for something of my status. I want a C-rank mission or higher, or else I'm not moving from this spot."

"Shut up Naruto-" Kakashi began, but Sasuke cut him off.

"I agree. I want something of higher ranking too. This isn't helping us get stronger or gain any field experience. This is the crap Academy students should get assigned instead of actual Shinobi." Sasuke voiced as well, backing Naruto's claim.

Sarutobi groaned. It was that time, the time that every genin eventually demanded. The C-rank mission. It was a coming of age ritual basically, as eventually the genin would get bored with D-rank missions and would fight for a C-rank or above, although they only ever got C-rank. Still, Team Seven had done it faster than any other teams this year had barring Team Eight.

"Kakashi-san, do you think they are ready for a C-rank?"

"As ready as they'll ever get," Kakashi said, shrugging. C-ranks still involved very little threats, usually escorts to nearby villages or taking out a minor bandit problem, nothing your standard genin couldn't handle. Plus, his genin were not your average genin. Naruto and Sasuke were what you could dub as "elite-genin", and whilst Sakura wasn't quite on that level, she was also above your average genin by a fair amount.

"Well, the only one we have currently is escorting a bridge builder to his home in **Nami no Kuni**."

Kakashi nodded. "We will accept."

Naruto smiled and cheered and Sasuke simply let out a smirk. Sakura however had the most expressed reaction, excluding Naruto. She gave a bright smile, although afterwards she showed a hint of doubt in the decision, still not quite confident in her abilities.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Naruto asked, looking at the rosette with curiosity.

"Yeah, Naruto. I'm just not sure if I'm ready for a mission like this because I'm the weakest link on the team. I'm worried I'll hold the team back," the girl responded honestly, pulling a strand of her hair.

The redhead frowned. "Of course you're ready for a C-rank mission, you're not alone. You have us too: me, Teme and an S-ranked Jonin. Just because you're the weakest on the team doesn't make you a weakling, you're not a bad shinobi at all Sakura-chan!" He finished with a smile, before turning away and looking at the Hokage.

Meanwhile, Sakura's morale lifted and she felt a random surge of heat rushing towards her cheeks. She faintly blushed at the flattery and the fact that someone, even if it was Naruto of all people, believed in her. "Thanks Naruto."

"Send in the bridge builder," Hiruzen said. The door opened quickly afterwards, to reveal a grey-haired, bespectacled man with a large beard and dark eyes. He wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. There was a towel around his neck, and he wore a pointed hat on his head. Lastly, he had a bottle of sake clutched within his hands.

"You give me those gaki's to protect me? The girl looks like she's completely useless, the broody one looks like he has a mental problem with life, and the redhead one looks like he couldn't harm a fly. They'd better be good enough," the man insulted.

"Can you do any better?" Naruto and Sasuke whispered silently, killer intent laced through the threat.

"Well, Tazuna-san, I'd be careful about what you say. These three are capable in different ways, and rather irritable," Kakashi said as he strolled out of the room. "Meet me at the southern Konoha gate at twelve o'clock sharp tomorrow."

 **-The Next Day-**

Naruto groaned as Team Seven and the old man, Tazuna was his name if he recalled correctly, waited on Kakashi. Normally Naruto wouldn't have even arrived early enough to be bothered by Kakashi's tardiness, however as this was his first C-rank mission he wanted to get it underway already, even if it was just protecting some smug bastard of a bridge builder.

"Why did you come so early Dobe?" Sasuke asked looking at him. "You knew Kakashi would be late, all of us but the old geezer did. I came to get in some last minute peace and quiet away from those disgraceful Kunoichi."

Naruto nodded, feeling a bit of sympathy for his rival. While he didn't understand Sasuke's pain personally, having fan-girls constantly chase after you endlessly wasn't fun, at least from what he observed. When he was younger he definitely would have killed for that, but after seeing the craziness that their supposed love for the Uchiha had caused them to do, he was happy he didn't have any fan-girls.

"Honestly, I'm just excited for the mission and wanna start already, that's about it," Naruto said, then turning towards the rosette. "Why did you come early Sakura-chan?"

Sakura rubbed the back of her sheepishly. "I'm the same as you."

"Hey brats, where is that sensei of yours? Isn't he supposed to be an S-ranked Jonin or something? Doesn't that mean he should be on time? I'm a rather important contact you know," Tazuna grumbled arrogantly.

Naruto just looked at him dryly, finding his constant complaining rather annoying. "That's too many questions, and I don't give enough fucks to answer em. Still, he is kinda running unusually late, even for him."

Sakura just shook her head and apologized to the man. While he may be annoying, he was still a paying customer and they shouldn't ruin that at any cost. He could have hired a different village instead of Konoha after all.

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi said, appearing behind Naruto, and causing him to jump in the air with surprise.

"YOU BASTARD!" Naruto roared throwing a punch at him, however Kakashi easily caught it and roughly pinned the red-haired Uzumaki to the ground swiftly.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard the talk before Naruto. Now, are we all finally ready to go?"

"Tch, you were the one that was late," Sasuke said plainly, just shaking his head as he strode out of the gate with his hands in his pockets, followed by Tazuna, Sakura, and Naruto not far behind.

Kakashi simply stood there confused. "What just happened?"

 **-Three Days Later-**

"Alright Naruto, since we are pretty close to the gate I want you to create eight clones. Then have them fan out at variable distances within a mile of the group, and if one of them sees something suspicious have it dispel so you can then inform us. Try to have them be as stealthy as they can be," Kakashi ordered.

"No problem Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto quickly made the required number of shadow clones and sent them on their way.

Tazuna didn't know much about a shinobi's capabilities but that one sure looked useful in keeping him safe. He felt a bit bad about lying to the shinobi especially with the fact they were just kids but this was his countries only hope.

The Hatake noted that Naruto was keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of danger very keenly. In fact, he was a bit too jumpy and twitched and prepared for battle every time a simple woodland creature moved.

Kakashi decided enough was enough and cautioned his redheaded student. "Naruto, while it's good you are taking it seriously, it's important that you stop sounding false alarms." The Sensei then added more to his statement. "And keep in mind that even if you did spot an enemy approaching it's not always the best idea to sound the alarm, especially if they feel they have the factor of surprise. And when they realize they don't it can be a nasty surprise with deadly repercussions. So calm down a bit."

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei."

The journey continued for another couple of hours when Kakashi and the two genin with Kekkei Genkai's spotted a puddle of water. It hadn't rained in a few days, so it was quite out of place for Kakashi's finely honed senses. Without changing his movements in the slightest, Kakashi reached out with his senses and quickly deduced that there were two enemy in shinobi hiding.

' _It's highly unlikely that a legitimate Jonin-level enemy would make that foolish mistake. I'll be ready to step in if things go too poorly, but my team requires a dosage of real shinobi combat_ ,' Kakashi thought to himself.

Sure enough after a few more moments as the group walked by, the puddle changed into two shinobi, both of them wielding a large gauntlet attacked. They struck at the most dangerous target firs, which was obviously the S-ranked Jonin. Kakashi completed an undetectable **Kawarimi jutsu** right as a chain that connected the two gauntlets and shinobi together was wrapped around him. Kakashi stayed hidden off to the side as he watched for what his squad of fresh genin would do.

Naruto shouted, thankful that he studied the Bingo Book to some degree. "Chunin-level! Missing-nin from Kirigakure, affinity with water and they use poison!" He had shouted this information as he performed the **Kage Bunshin** , deploying over a dozen shadow clones. Sakura created a few regular **Bunshin** that dashed forward, attempting to distract the two Chunin-level opponents.

Sasuke activated his **Sharingan** and saw Kakashi hiding off to the side, giving off a slight smirk. ' _Hn, guess he thinks we can handle them, which we can_.'

The Uchiha then threw a few shuriken at the pair of shinobi racing for them. The shuriken were avoided, but right behind them came in the Naruto horde. The first wave of redheads had raced forward while the second had paused to **Henge** to look like Sakura and Sasuke. The missing-nin used the chain to good effect, catching two of the clones right away.

One of the clones attempted a flying kick that the enemy on the left ducked, and another clone attempted a strike at the torso of the one on the right. A quick jab made the clone immediately poof into smoke. The final clone of the first five came in right behind the clone that had just been dealt with and kicked him in the knee cap. The blow was rather strong, and Gozu's leg buckled underneath him.

The second wave of clones had arrived mingled in with Sakura's images, and the mass of opponents they were suddenly faced with surprised them. Gozu had to release the chain and quickly defend himself as multiple clones attacked. And although several more clones turned into smoke, Naruto just grinned and made more.

Sakura fired off a pair of kunai, further distracting the two and attempting to be useful. Sasuke chose that very next moment to strike. As Meizu blocked the kunai with his gauntlet, Sasuke dashed forward with great speed. His fist slammed into his opponent's ribs, prompting Meizu to grunt as he tried to bring his poison tipped gauntlet around, but with the **Sharingan** spinning it was telegraphed and easily avoided.

A Naruto clone kicked the back of Meizu's calf, sending him to the ground. Sasuke took full advantage and grabbed the gauntleted arm and snapped the enemy shinobi's arm ruthlessly. A kunai then appeared in his hand and was held at the demon brother's throat, pressed right onto his neck. "Game over."

Meizu was a deadman and he knew it right before the kunai damn near decapitated him, and Gozu was favoring one leg while the Naruto clones rushed him. He found out that he couldn't get free of the clones to come to the aid of his brother. Naruto saw one of his clones jump in the air and he knew his next move. Gozu was popping clones left and right, but since they were only coming in two or three at a time he had several to deal with that were always easily replaced. The clone that leapt into the air was quickly hit with a **Kawarimi** from the real Naruto, whom was now in the air and in perfect position to use his jutsu. He flashed through the hand signs in mid air, gathering air within his mouth.

" **Futon:** **Daitoppa**!"

The gust of air crashed down at an angle on Gozu, destroying several clones in it's wake but that was just fine by Naruto. The gale force wind slammed Gozu into the ground with tremendous force, and because it was at an angle he slid a good fifteen feet, the abrasive ground cut through his clothing and ripped up skin. Even before he finished sliding, several clones landed next to him and pinned him down to the ground.

One clone held a kunai at his throat, a glare on his face. "Move and you die," the Naruto clone said in a calm, threatening voice.

Sakura had been defending Tazuna after throwing two of her kunai, and she was relieved/happy that the battle was over. It had been their first genuine shinobi battle and it was won without any injuries! Kakashi congratulated them and quickly secured their two prisoners. He attached a chakra seal and secured them tightly enough that not even an A-ranked Jonin could escape.

He then turned to the bridge builder. "We need to talk about what is really going on."

Tazuna looked around, nervously trying to play the fool. "What do you mean by that?"

Kakashi raised his killing intent and Tazuna backed up as the oppressive pressure bore down on him. The jonin's voice then took on a stone cold, rather ominous tone. "You lied about the mission parameters, which could have potentially gotten all of us killed. Were you in league with this shinobi? Was this a trap set for us?"

Kakashi didn't think that was the case at all, but fear could be a very powerful motivator in making someone talk. As he suspected he would, Tazuna stumbled over himself trying to explain himself. "I'm not working with them! I swear!" Tazuna held his hands up as he backed away. "They were trying to kill me to stop me from building the bridge and saving the town from being oppressed!"

"Hai Tazuna-san, I never doubted they wanted you dead, but why are there shinobi trying to stop you from building the bridge?" Kakashi asked the question in a more conversational tone and Tazuna jonin actually believed him, but he had given it away that he was expecting the attack.

"Alright alright, I'll tell you everything. It all started when a despicable man by the name of Gato came to our land." Tazuna proceeded to tell the story of the suffering of Nami no Kuni, and the four leaf-nin listened to his story.

Naruto in particular wanted to save them all from Gato's regime, whom reminded him of all the bullies in the village whom had mocked him and tried to strip away his willpower to go on. Gato was doing the same thing, demoralizing and controlling an entire land simply because he had the resources to do it. Naruto shouted out, "We are going to save your country and kick out this Gato guy, believe it!"

Kakashi interrupted him, "Naruto not so fast. This was supposed to have been a C-ranked mission. Any mission that involves aby enemy shinobi is automatically at least a B-ranked mission. Genin do not take B-ranked missions unless circumstances call for it."

"Hn," Sasuke responded. "I'm game."

"But we hafta help them!" Naruto shouted in protest.

Sakura remained quiet, she wanted to help the people of Nami no Kuni but shouldn't this be handled by a more experienced team of shinobi? Yes Tazuna had said that they couldn't afford to pay for a B-ranked mission, but what if Sasuke-kun or Naruto got hurt?

Inner Sakura screamed, ' _Coward! You're afraid, if you want to be a shinobi you have to be willing to fight! So go out there and fight! Show Sasuke-kun what you are made of! Cha Cha Cha!_ '

Sakura bit her lip and then quietly but firmly said, "We can do it. We're a team and look at what we have accomplished so far. Please Kakashi-Sensei, please let us continue the mission!" Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at her, Naruto grateful for agreement and Sasuke giving the Kunoichi a firm nod.

Kakashi looked at his genin team and thought about the situation. Likely they would face another threat this time, and it would probably be a jonin. If a jonin was their opponent, Kakashi was confident he could handle the threat fairly easily. However, battle was never a certain thing so he would have to continue being on his guard.

' _Is my team ready? Perhaps they are, but I'll need to test how far they are willing to go. Sasuke would have no qualms and I'm confident about Naruto. But Sakura…_ '

The leader of team seven told his team, "I have decided how we should handle this. Sakura, this will be your choice. If you wish to continue this mission you must prove you are fully committed to it."

Tazuna looked on hopeful. Naruto was confused, "What do you mean? Sakura-chan already said she wanted to continue."

"It's simple; I know you and Sasuke have the killer instinct to fight with the intent to kill. I don't know if Sakura does, so in order to prove to me that she does have that instinct she must kill one of our prisoners."

Everyone tensed at the announcement; Sakura froze, her eyes widening in horror. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and tried to think of a way around Kakashi's test. ' _This might work, it's worth a shot_ ,' he thought. "Kakashi-Sensei, this one might have some valuable information. We should keep him alive for it."

Kakashi laughed at the Uchiha's attempt to dissuade the test. "Nice try Sasuke. I appreciate you trying to work as a team however his information isn't necessary. There is no point in leaving him alive. Sakura will just have to past this test."

Sakura's mind shrank away from the task. In the middle of combat, she felt that she could kill if it meant saving Sasuke-kun's life or that of another leaf shinobi. But in cold blood? After the battle is finished? It was unthinkable to her, but if she didn't do it the people of Nami no Kuni would continue to suffer under the tyrant businessman's boot and regime.

Sakura looked at the two missing-nin and swallowed thickly. She looked at the faces of her teammates, Naruto looked shocked at the turn of events and Sasuke looked pissed, likely because he thought she wouldn't go through with it. Tazuna looked at her with pleading eyes. Sakura's hand was shaking from the pressurized decision, how could her sensei make her do this?

Kakashi raised his voice, a cruel tone in his voice. "Did you think being a shinobi was glamorous? We are assassins, thieves, spies, soldiers and infiltrators. If you aren't willing to kill you aren't going to be on this team. Don't mistake my meaning Sakura; if you don't kill you will remain on team seven and I will give you future chances. However, at some point or another I will require that you kill someone and if you can't do that then drop out and work at the Konoha hospital."

Sakura didn't want to let her team down, and she didn't want to let the people of Nami no Kuni down. She pulled out a kunai, her hand trembling vigorously. Tears welled within her eyes as this was the moment of truth. A heavy weight pressed down on her chest, if she did this her path in life would be different then she had ever dreamed it could be. Would she walk the killer's path?

Naruto watched his crush with baited breath as he was angry with his sensei for putting her through this. Sakura was being torn apart by the weight of her decision, and then she took a deep breath. Before she could change her mind and stop herself, she whipped out a kunai and threw it at the remaining helpless shinobi. The kunai sank into the soft flesh of Gozu's neck and death immediately took the shinobi making Sakura feel a chill cover her body.

Kakashi walked over to Sakura and gently cupped her face. "Good work _Shinobi_." The word shinobi was said quietly yet forcefully. It imparted meaning that was not there before, a meaning that was not there prior to the taking of a life. Sakura stood proudly for a moment, her chin lifted up... until a sudden sickening sensation filled her.

' _I'm proud? I'm proud I murdered someone in cold blood?_ ' Sakura turned away and ran four steps before heaving the contents of her stomach out. Naruto went to attempt to comfort her but Kakashi stopped him with a simple shake of his head. Sakura continually puked her guts out and then collapsed to her knees, soft sobs filling the area.

Kakashi summoned Pakkun and gave him instructions to take a message back to Konoha. The ninken was a bit miffed but saw the corpse and instantly knew that it had been someone's first kill. The dog just agreed to deliver the message and rushed off to the village hidden in the leaves.

The pink haired girl's cries finally stopped; she sniffed a few times and looked at her teammates. "I'm ready to go."

They promptly continued their journey to Nami no Kuni without another second being wasted. Sasuke randomly remarked to Naruto about the prior fight, the boredom being to great even for him. "Are you sure you identified them correctly? They were weak and they were chunin."

"Yup, I'm pretty sure they were on page 10. Maybe they got rusty or somethin?"

Kakashi interrupted their conversation, "Ranks don't mean everything. They may have become chunin based on their stealth abilities. At first I did not sense them, that means they had jonin level stealth skills. If it wasn't for their lack of knowledge of the weather here they would have been able to strike before I was ready." Kakashi gave a small shrug, "I would have survived, but I could see it working on other normal jonin. And it would have been a piece of cake against a chunin or lower."

Their jonin sensei continued his lecture on rankings. "Luck also plays a factor in the chunin exams. Each village structures their exam in a different way. It wouldn't surprise me if the village hidden in the Mist focuses on stealth as a key to passing their chunin exams."

Kakashi also warned them that rank could be deceptive. There was a mysterious genin within Konoha that was probably on par with or more powerful than any chunin servicing in the Leaf's shinobi force. Naruto asked, "Why hasn't he been promoted by now?"

"He has refused every promotion."

"Why?"

"He has his reasons, but they aren't mine to share."

They camped at night, and Kakashi personally set a number of traps as well as cast a Genjutsu over them to hide their presence. With that done and over with they also set up watches.

On the first watch, Sakura talked with her sensei. "Kakashi-Sensei… does it get any easier over time?" Kakashi looked at her, his gaze steady with a hint of compassion in his single visible eye.

"Yes, killing is something that gets easier over time. You will always remember your first kill, but if you have a long and successful career as a shinobi it will become second nature." Sakura was chilled at the thought of being used to killing people, regardless of the reasons.

"You kill for a reason, to finish the mission. Ultimately, the mission is the security of Konoha. For your parents, you're future children, your teammates, fellow shinobi and those who cannot protect themselves. By killing your enemies you keep your village safe, you save more lives."

Sakura looked like she wanted to say something but Kakashi continued. "Make no mistake Sakura, the demon brothers were destined to die the second they attacked us. If you hadn't killed him and Sasuke hadn't killed the other one then the Anbu would have. And if you chose to quit the team and stop being a shinobi then someone else would've filled that role and blood will still be spilled anyways."

The copy-nin's gaze took on a harsher appearance. "A refusal to kill, to not be a shinobi does not lessen killing in the world. It only passes the burden on to someone else to carry out the execution. Your squeamishness was a risk for team seven and you will emerge from this stronger than before. You were strong enough to bear the burden so someone else doesn't need to. Take pride in that, you bear the sacrifice of the bloody hand so someone else doesn't have to."

Sakura thought about her sensei's words, his remarks were perfectly logical and they made sense. Yet some part of her soul fled from the cold logic that justified the dealing of death. The no longer innocent girl bowed her head, "There has to be a better way sensei."

Kakashi sighed, "I wish there was Sakura, but we live in a very flawed world."

Kakashi then grinned despite of the somber mood. "But maybe when your red-haired teammate becomes the Hokage, he can bring the naive dream that is peace to fruition. After all, he is the number one unpredictable ninja; maybe he'll just surprise us all." Kakashi's grin slowly vanished, not that anyone could really see it behind his mask, and his tone hardened with ice. "Until that day comes I expect you to be a shinobi and kill as you are ordered to."

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura responded. ' _I'll be there for my team. I'll kill when I'm instructed. But there is a better way and this team is going to find it_!' Sakura promised herself and she closed her eyes, trying to go into dreamless sleep.

 **\- Team Seven Campsite Later That Night -**

Naruto was sitting on a hill at the edge of the camp. Kakashi had taken the first watch, and he was taking the second. He was sitting reading the book on Fuinjutsu, and he almost understood the concept behind the explosive tags. However, he knew he couldn't make them yet and he made a note to himself to have his clones work on his handwriting. He wasn't ashamed to say that it sucked ass; he hadn't really needed it – until now.

He heard steps behind and looked over his shoulder, to see Sakura walking towards him. "What's wrong, can't sleep?"

"No," her voice sounded behind him. "I was – hey! Aren't you supposed to keep watch?" She asked a little accusingly. Naruto didn't answer, instead he pointed to places at the edge of the camp. She looked to see a couple of **Kage Bunshin** scouting around. "Oh, sorry…"

"No problem," he flipped a page. "Why can't you sleep?"

She hesitated. She didn't really know if she wanted to share this with Naruto of all people. She sighed, and sat down a meter beside him. "I keep thinking about the battle earlier today. About how useless and worthless I was; no wonder Sasuke-kun thinks I'm pathetic, because I am."

This time it was Naruto's turn to hesitate. This was the moment he had waited for; the moment he could try to get her to act more like a Kunoichi instead of a fan-girl.

"I have some advice, but I don't know how much you're going to like it." She just looked at him, as he continued. "You need to get it together. We're shinobi now; we aren't just students. If it had been only you today, Tazuna and you would have been killed. But you aren't pathetic, you're great! Fuck what Teme says, he's a stuck up asshole."

Sakura frowned. She didn't like it, but he was right. "What would you have me do then?"

"Stop being a fan-girl and train like you mean it," was the response.

"I'm not a fan-girl!" Naruto looked up from his book and gave her a look that said 'Are you fucking serious?' She sighed, "okay, maybe I am."

Naruto shook his head with an amused grin on his lips. "Try to take being a kunoichi more seriously. Don't go on diet, ya need the energy the food gives you. If you train without it, you will just become skinny. And not the good skinny you want, I mean bad unhealthy skinny. I don't think Sasuke would like that very much," she blushed like she had just found out her secret crush.

"And then start training harder, like you're striving for something. Don't just go through the motions or tap out during training, just give it all you've got. Stop caring so much about your clothes, hair and so on. Start focusing on sharpening your shinobi skills." He paused, "And for the record, it may even help your chances with Sasuke." It hurt like hell to say that to the girl _he_ had a crush on. "Sasuke is attracted to power. So if you become a powerful kunoichi, you may even get him."

Sakura nodded. She didn't like everything that was said, and he needed to think about it. She rose and started walking back to her tent, but stopped and turned halfway around, a bit of gratitude welling up within her. "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto just lifted his hand and half waved without looking up from his book, as if to say 'no problem'. She walked to her tent, and tried to get some sleep before her watch was coming up.

 **-Fortress, Unknown location-**

"Failed!? I spent a lot of money to hire all of you because I heard you lot were skilled ninja!" A short man in a business suit said looking at a larger man, whom was sitting in a throne-like chair.

"Stop complaining and shut the hell up!" The man in the chair sneered, swinging a big butcher-like knife at the shorter man, just to stop inches from his throat. "I'll use this decapitating "blade" and kill those guys."

The shorter man didn't seem to believe he could do it, and starting talking in a mocking tone. "Do you really think you will be okay? It looks like the enemy has hired damn good shinobi, and since the Demon Brothers failed in the assassination, they'll be more cautious, so it won't be that easy."

"Who the hell do you think I am?" The sword wielding person said, not liking the tone the shorter man was speaking to him in. "I, Momochi Zabuza, was called the Demon of Kirigakure for a reason."

The shorter man looked at him with a tinge of fear. "Fine, do what you want. But I expect him to be dead – and soon," he said, walking away rather hastily.


	14. Encounter With Zabuza

_Chapter 14: Encounter With Zabuza_

* * *

 **-The Next Day-**

As the group walked through the marsh, Kakashi walked over to the client. "Tazuna, where exactly is your house? We will need to know as undoubtedly higher level ninja will be after you."

Tazuna nodded. "It's in a town near here, just twelve more kilometers away."

However, before Kakashi could respond Naruto threw a kunai at a nearby bush. He walked over there, pulled away the leaves to see a shaking white rabbit.

"Baka!" Sakura screeched. "It was just a rabbit."

Sasuke looked closer at the rabbit that had actually come up to Naruto's leg and began nuzzling him in a sign of comfort. "Wait, those types of rabbits don't live here normally. The colors off, and it's not winter yet, which means…" Sasuke let the sentence drag out.

" **Kawarimi**!" Kakashi hissed, grabbing Naruto and Tazuna before pulling them to the ground. "Get down!"

Sasuke grabbed Sakura shot to the ground as a massive cleaver flew over their heads before embedding itself in a tree, creating a huge denture in it's bark. A figure jumped onto the cleaver, the figure was tall and noticeably muscular with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. The figure was undoubtedly male and he wore a mask made of bandages over the bottom half of his face. He also wore a forehead protector that had a slash through it the sign of a rogue ninja, which was sideways on his head. The man was shirtless, with his chest only covered by a belt to which he attached the cleaver when he wasn't suing it, wearing baggy pants with the striped pattern that was typical of a Kirigakure ninja and mimetic wrist-warmers that extended up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers.

The blade he held was an intimidating sight without him. It had two cut outs, a circle close to the top and a semi-circular one nearer to the handle, that made the sword look like it was for decapitation. It had a notch that allowed a strap to be wrapped around the weapon, making it easier to carry, as if it looked exceedingly heavy. It had an extremely long handle which was also detachable to further aid transportation and could reattach for combat.

"Who are you," Sasuke asked, however his nerves were unprepared for Kakashi to start leaking massive amounts of killer intent.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, get into formation to protect Tazuna," Kakashi ordered, which they promptly obeyed. Seeing that, the infamous S-ranked shinobi of Konoha turned to the new enemy presenting himself. "Momochi Zabuza, or would you prefer to be called the ' **Kirigakure no Kijin** '?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't really care, S-ranked Jonin Hatake Kakashi, otherwise known as, ' **Sharingan no Kakashi'** or, ' **Kopi Ninja no Kakashi**.'"

"Why are you here?" Kakashi asked. "Tazuna?"

"You know why I'm here. I'm here for the bridge builder of course."

"A man with your stature is working under some scum like Gato?" Zabuza simply shrugged, not caring about the plug known as Gato.

Kakashi got it then. "He protects you from the hunter-nin that are after you, doesn't he?"

Zabuza just hopped of the sword, yanking it from the tree on his way towards the ground before landing easily. " **Kirigakure no Jutsu**."

Kakashi growled and grabbed his forehead protector as mist began to roll in, cloaking the area.

"Oh, so I get to see it, the famous Sharingan, used by the man who wields a thousand jutsu."

Sasuke paused at that. Kakashi had the Sharingan? Impossible. The Sharingan was only able to be manifested in Uchiha; someone who wasn't in the clan shouldn't be able to use it. The only logical explanation if that man was telling the truth was that Kakashi…was a long lost Uchiha clan member. Meaning, that Sasuke had family still, he wasn't the last Uchiha. But that would be impossible, maybe he was given one by one of his clan members?

"The Sharingan," Sasuke whispered before his body froze all thoughts of his Dojutsu forgotten. He felt it now. The killing intent of the two Jonin-level ninja. It was intense, very intense. They were clashing ferociously, and he just couldn't bear it. The killing intent was too high, pressuring him to much. The only time he felt killer intent like this was with Itachi five years ago. NO! He was the last Uchiha, if he could handle Itachi then he could handle this easy! Sasuke slowly turned towards Sakura, whom pointed a kunai at her neck.

A laugh echoed through the air. "Look at the girl Kakashi. She's basically pissing her pants. If anyone I thought it would be the red-haired brat, but the pink haired one is proving to be quite pathetic."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"Eight points. Lungs, liver, larynx, jugular vein, spine, collar bone, kidney, heart, which will be my kill point?"

Sakura reared the kunai back, preparing to jab it into her neck. Naruto willed his body to move to Sakura and yank the Kunai right out her grasp. "Sakura-chan! Calm down, I won't let anything happen to you, and that's a promise."

"Sakura, calm down," Kakashi ordered. "I won't allow my comrades to die. I'll protect you with my life. Trust me."

"Are you so sure, Kakashi," Zabuza said, appearing between the genin of Team Seven with his sword drawn.

Naruto reacted instantly, swinging a kunai directly at Zabuza's head. Seeing the ensuing fight, Sasuke jumped backwards, pulling away Tazuna and Sakura. Zabuza blocked the strike with his sword before kicking Naruto in the chest, sending him flying towards a tree. Naruto coughed before he impacted with the tree, the force of the strike knocking some wind out of him. That kick was strong, and it had hurt a good bit.

Kakashi pulled up his headband immediately and channeled chakra through his body, blowing away part of the mist. That was when everyone saw it, the Sharingan in Kakashi's left eye, with three tomoi spinning within it.

"The famous Sharingan," Zabuza said.

"What is this Sharingan?" Naruto asked. "Everyone keeps saying it but I have no idea what the hell it is."

"The Sharingan," Sasuke said. "A rare power, that resides in the eyes. The user of the visual jutsu can instantly see and comprehend any Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, or Taijutsu and reflect the attack back on the attacker. The Sharingan is a special, rare form of dojutsu. However, there is more to the Sharingan than that, a hell of a lot more."

"You got it right boy, but you only scratched the surface." Zabuza said. "Sharingan can analyze an opponent's technique, and then copy it to the smallest detail."

"Correct. Join in when I give the signal," Kakashi called before launching three kunai at Zabuza. The rogue ninja blocked the kunai before charging Kakashi. He tried to slash him; however Kakashi jumped over the attack and lashed out with a kunai that pierced Zabuza's neck. A clear liquid splattered all over the ground.

Zabuza began to let his chakra flow into the air, creating a dense fog. Kakashi was on him in an instant before the mist could even come together a kunai was aimed at his heart. Zabuza was shocked at the speed; he quickly blocked the arm that was wielding the kunai. Kakashi's Sharingan eye saw the movement and was already lashing out with a Taijutsu attack, arms blurring with such speed that he overcame Zabuza's defenses easily and smashed his kunai through his chest. Zabuza dispersed into another pile of water once more.

The real Zabuza retrieved his blade. A tide of orange clones rushed at him, mixed in were images of Kakashi, the pink haired one and the dark haired boy. One swing of the blade demolished several of the clones. Much to Zabuza's annoyance however is that they hadn't come all at once meaning he had another wave right after the first.

The clones were a distraction not a serious threat, but he could not afford to be distracted against an opponent of Kakashi's calibre. _'Tch he is these brat's instructor, he'll want to save them and I can then get an opening.'_ As he thought this he had to deal with Kakashi rushing him again. The jonin was very fast, much faster than he was.

Zabuza swung at Kakashi and the leaf shinobi rolled underneath the attack. Momochi pressed forward, kicking out as Kakashi completed the roll ready to strike. Kakashi instantly dodged to the right of his opponent, effectively side stepping away and lashing out with kunai. First blood went to Kakashi as the shallow cut scraped Zabuza.

Zabuza ignored the cut and pumped chakra into his feet and rushed the three genin and the bridge builder. He smashed through the Naruto's clones like they weren't even there. Sasuke saw the jonin move with a speed he couldn't hope to match yet. However, his eyes did see where the attack was coming from and met it with the signature move learned from his childhood.

" **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**!"

In the same instant this was occurring Naruto summoned a fresh batch of shadow clones. Sakura saw her crush blur through the hand signs again and added the same attack, but this one aimed above the first one. This would limit Zabuza's possible options; he could not leap over Sasuke's attack.

The missing-nin snarled at the unexpected elemental attack. Genin typically did not learn chakra manipulation so early! He leapt left, avoiding the burning attack however his forward momentum was stopped and Kakashi rushed him again. Zabuza swept the Kubikiribocho in a great arc trying to force the jonin back. Kakashi stopped in his tracks and threw the kunai at his opponent's leg at point blank range.

Zabuza twisted his body to the side awkwardly trying to avoid the blow; even so it still grazed him. A Naruto clone hit him with a flying kick while he was off balance, and the rogue shinobi was pushed forward by the blow and had to hastily block Kakashi's Taijutsu assault. The man forced himself in close, preventing Zabuza from effectively using the blade. Kakashi read every move Zabuza made and was dominating him in the fight with such precision and power.

 _'I have to get to the water,'_ he desperately thought.

Zabuza had taken a blow to the ribs that made breathing slightly difficult, but he had finally put some separation between him and the masked shinobi. He hastily performed the **Kawarimi jutsu** without hand seals.

Zabuza rushed forward into the water and started to make a pair of water clones when Kakashi erupted underneath the surface of the water. As soon as his hand broke contact with the surface of the water, Kakashi gathered chakra to form the **Chidori**. Zabuza was baffled at how the shinobi was waiting for him and how he avoided being sensed by him.

"Game over."

"Damn," Zabuza thought thinking back on what happened.

As soon as he had landed from Kakashi's kick, two kunai slammed into his back before he was kicked into a tree and chained to it with a kunai. Kakashi then slammed his head back on the tree, stunning him before charging up a **Chidori**.

Two senbon flew through the air, impacting with Zabuza's neck.

Kakashi looked up at the perpetrator, glaring at him suspiciously before realizing the uniform the person wore. The person had long black hair, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes, a slender frame, and looked to be short for his age, which looked to be around Sasuke's. The person wore a standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stopped at their knees. Over that they wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around their waist there was a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice. They wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same color as their kimono and nail polish on their fingernails and toenails in matching blue-green color. There was a black forehead protector with the Kirigakure symbol on it, and there was a hunter-nin mask on their face.

"Ah, a hunter-nin. I assume you are here for Zabuza," Kakashi asked.

The hunter-nin nodded. "I must thank you. I have been hunting him for awhile now, and you defeating him made my job much easier."

Kakashi nodded. "Glad to help."

The hunter-nin jumped down from the tree they were perched on before lifting up Zabuza's body onto their back.

"I will be leaving now."

With that the hunter-nin disappeared. Kakashi smiled at that before putting his headband back over his now-closed left eye that contained his Sharingan.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Taz-" his sentence ended as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Tazuna, Sasuke, and Sakura looked at each other strangely. They then looked at Sasuke, as he had the most knowledge out of the group on the Sharingan.

"The Sharingan is meant for those who are part of the Uchiha clan, my clan. From the fact it wasn't in both eyes its obvious Kakashi is not part of my clan. Therefore, the strain he must go through when using it must be great and thus he must rest after using it, as his body isn't used to it."

The trio nodded, accepting it before Naruto made shadow clones to carry Kakashi.

"Let's get going Tazuna. We don't want to stay out here for long."

Tazuna nodded and began to lead the way, followed by Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who were still quite perplexed by the enigma their sensei truly was.

 **-At Tazuna's House-**

Once inside, Tsunami took the kids to their rooms. Tazuna only had two spare bedrooms, one in which for Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. It was decided that Sakura would share a room with Tsunami, them being the only females in the house.

With the genin out of their way, it was time for Kakashi to sit with Tazuna and discuss things.

"So, what rank do you suppose the mission is now?" Asked Tazuna as he pulled out a bottle of sake and some saucers to which Kakashi declined.

"A-rank at least. Depends on who comes along with Zabuza the next time they attack." Said Kakashi.

"Zabuza?" asked Tazuna, his eyes wide with shock. "The eyebrow-less freak that attacked today? I thought he died."

The Jonin shook his head. "No. We believe the hunter-nin is someone in his group of ninja. Hunter-nin have a rule to remove the heads from the bodies of their targets and to burn the body on the spot, just taking the head back to the village as proof of the targets death. This particular hunter-nin did none of that and instead took off with the body, which is breaking the rules."

"Besides, senbon isn't really an effective killing tool. It's mostly used for healing techniques like acupuncture to stimulate nerves. It can be used to put bodies in a near death state that can be reversed," stated Sakura as she entered along with Naruto and Sasuke.

"Sakura here has recently started studying about iryo-nin and everything that comes with that, so I thought her input would be valuable. And as for Naruto and Sasuke, we need both of them if we are to handle both of them easily."

"Both of them?" Asked Tazuna.

"Yes," answered Kakashi.

Kakashi then turned to Sasuke. "How long do you think we have before we can expect another attack?"

Sasuke thought for a bit. "With the knowledge I have, which isn't much, I'd say three to four days but there's no way to be sure. Depending on his partners quality as a medic, he could be fit for another round as soon as tomorrow."

"Alright it's settled. One of you and a clone will accompany Tazuna to the bridge everyday until the second attack. The other two that remain will be training as you all need more preparation as a _team_ to take on the hunter-nin and potentially anyone else."

There was a slight knock on the door before the head of Tsunami poked in. "Dinner is ready."

Dinner was a quiet affair. The table being too small to fit them all Naruto filled his bowl and excused himself. He was sitting on the rooftop, gazing at the stars while lazily devouring his meal when he heard something placed next to him.

He looked at the object to see that it was a second bowl of rice filled to its brim. "Don't complain," came Sakura's voice. "We both know one bowl will not fill that vortex you call a stomach." She said with a small laugh as she sat down beside him with two bowls of her own.

"Arigato Sakura-chan." He said as he sat up.

"You're welcome Naruto, sometimes you're too nice to people. You want to leave the food for them when it's you who needs it to become stronger in order to help these people who need saving," she said calmly.

Naruto lowered his head as he played with his food. "It's not that Sakura-chan," he spoke up. "I remember myself when I was over half a decade younger, too small to go to the academy. I had little food as they do now, and I remember what it was like to go hungry most of the day."

Sakura looked at Naruto and saw him fighting his tears, trying to hold them back. She had known his childhood had been harsh yet she hadn't known the full detail, maybe she still didn't even now. But on the inside, she felt better, hearing him open up himself and talk about his past which he never did.

The two genin saw a head peek up from downstairs and saw Kakashi's face looking up at the.

"Ah, there you are," said the Jounin. "Alright, I'm heading to bed, the usage of the Sharingan has taken a lot out of me for some reason. I suggest you two do the same once you're done with your dinner, you've got training in the morning."

The next second he was gone and the two were alone again, though Sakura felt Kakashi had ruined the mood and the flow Naruto had going. Now it would take a while before she could get anything out of him again.

 **-The Next Day-**

The next day began very early for the genin of Team Seven, the three of them attuned to their timetables back at Konoha. As usual they all began with a warm up run, this time with their weights released. After all, having speed would do nothing to favor them if they weren't able to capitalize on it, and as such it was important that the three of them get used to the speed they were now capable of without weights.

The three genin came back into the house exactly an hour later, looking no tired as they had left. There they met Kakashi and discussed their training over breakfast.

"Alright, listen carefully," began Kakashi, once they had reached a nice spot to train. "Training is going to be very different for the next few days because we are going to train to take out specific ninja. It's time to learn more Ninjutsu and team formations."

The three genin nodded.

"Good," continued Kakashi. "Naruto, when a battle begins you should attempt to flood the area with another twenty to thirty **Kage Bunshin**. **Henge** a few to make them look like us, and while you do this Sakura will make regular **Bunshin** to make it more confusing for the enemy. They won't be able to **Henge** , but it will add to the distraction. At that point, Naruto you are to call out if you identify the enemy. We don't need fancy code words, just identify the threat."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "What type of information should I provide?"

Kakashi responded, "Rank primarily, any known tactics or specialties. Remember if chunin or lower we go for the capture, if it is a jonin then we kill." Kakashi turned to Sasuke, "Meanwhile you will activate your Sharingan and determine if our attackers are using any illusions, you will do this even if we are facing bandits, ronin or samurai. It is easy for a shinobi to pretend to be something they aren't. I knew an ANBU operative who assumed the bandits were just bandits and he lost his life when the hidden shinobi blew his head off."

Sakura shivered, she could only imagine what kind of jutsu did that! She rubbed her arms a bit, Kakashi was dead serious. The life of a shinobi was life and death when they entered the battle. "If everything is as it should be then no need to call out anything. If it's a jonin then Naruto's clones will engage the enemy, feel free to add ranged weapons and jutsu as you like. Killing the enemy before they get close diminishes the risk you face in the actual battle."

Kakashi eyed Sasuke, "I'll repeat this for you Sasuke, shinobi battles are not the place to "test" your abilities. That's a great way to get killed, and where will your ambition be then? You will electrocute, burn, or pierce enemies from a distance, whichever one works best."

Sasuke frowned but responded with a, "Hai Sensei." The Uchiha then paused, "But only against jonin threats – otherwise I can get close correct?"

Kakashi nodded. "Time your attacks so they work together. Not just with a jutsu combination but with any move. If you throw a kunai with an explosive tag the shinobi will probably jump in one direction. As soon as you determine that direction unleash your attack. Because the Sharingan allows you to see even minute muscle twitches and glances, you are the clean up Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura will make them move and then you will finish it, you are the executioner."

Sasuke understood his role and was rather pleased with it. He was the executioner, it seemed fitting for an avenger like himself. They drilled various combination moves and attacks – they also discussed what to do when faced with certain situations. Kakashi drilled the tenets that he operated by over and over. Teamwork first. Never assume you've won. Don't talk about your abilities. Kill quickly and swiftly.

Kakashi was pleased with how the team was coming together. Towards the end of the day he started Naruto and Sasuke on the water walking exercise with his clone and started working with Sakura on Genjutsu.

"The Genjutsu we will be learning is the technique I used on you. It's not a powerful Genjutsu but it will be a great starting point," Kakashi explained. "The technique is called **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**."

Sakura's eyes widened, "That's a basic Genjutsu? The one that made me see Sasuke-kun dying in front of me?"

Kakashi eyed the genin, "Yes. The Genjutsu is pretty basic, for a variety of reasons."

Kakashi held up his index finger as he said, "One, it doesn't change what you see, it only adds to the victims senses. This means unlike other Genjutsu that completely obscures the victims five senses and replaces it with their own version of reality this one just adds one scene."

Kakashi held up a second finger and continued, "Two, it only effects two senses, sight and hearing. Your sense of taste, touch and smell were not impacted. This makes the jutsu quite easy to detect and why I was not surprised that you fell for it so easily."

Kakashi raised a third finger, "And finally it does not reveal the victim's greatest fear, instead it reflects the victim's most probable recent fear."

Sakura scrunched her brow as she thought about it, "Can you explain that a little to me a little bit more thoroughly?"

Kakashi complied, "If I had used this jutsu after having dinner with your family you may have seen your mother or father dying. It all depends on the emotional bond you have with individuals. The jutsu isn't even specific to that; it could be failure to realize a dream or desire, either way it is not necessarily the deepest or darkest fear someone has."

"Thank you Kakashi-Sensei. How do I make the Genjutsu work?"

Kakashi explained how Genjutsu worked, how it attacked the enemies chakra and took over their senses. Triggers were most frequently sight but some shinobi even used sound or smell to initiate them. "In theory, I suppose it can be done by taste and touch, but I have not seen a Genjutsu function that way." Sakura eagerly soaked up all of the knowledge that was given to her.

Kakashi showed her how to infuse her chakra into her victim's chakra network. With Sakura's excellent chakra control it wasn't difficult at all. Kakashi also used it on Sakura again, this time she saw Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi dying before her eyes. Knowing how it worked she was able to ignore the effect, and she decided to test it by walking up to Sasuke and touching the image; it wavered as she did so and then dissipated.

Her sensei taught her how to break a Genjutsu with a **Kai** as well. "Knowing you are under a Genjutsu is half of the battle. After that you can flood your chakra system with your own chakra breaking the effect, or you can cause physical pain to yourself. Neither method is full proof, but a skilled Genjutsu specialist should have an easier time breaking out of one."

After Sakura tried it a few times she could see the advantage of Genjutsu. If she could pin an opponent in place for even a second or two then Naruto and Sasuke could hammer them with their jutsu combination or something along those lines. After deeming her good enough to break Genjutsu's, the Hatake decided to try and instill her first genuine Ninjutsu that could harm opposing shinobi.

Kakashi explained to Sakura what he wanted her to do. "The jutsu I'm going to be teaching you is called **Suiton: Mizurappa**. It's a C-ranked Jutsu, and it's only as powerful as the chakra put into it. Due to the simple fact that you've worked hard on your chakra reserves, I reckon you can perform this jutsu adequate enough for combat." Once Kakashi finished, he showed his female genin all of the necessary hand-signs required to use the jutsu.

Once he had Sakura doing what he wanted, he turned to Naruto. "The jutsu I'm going to be teaching you is **Futon: Reppuushou**. I'll just show you the hand-seals for the jutsu I'm about to give you. It's a different variant of **Futon: Daitoppa** that could prove equally effective in combat. After you get the hand-seals I want you to have your clones practice the technique so it remains within your memory and you learn exponentially faster."

Weaving through each hand-seal slow enough for Naruto to see, the red-head nods, mimicking the signs himself. Creating ten clones, he had them all practice the jutsu for him. Kakashi then turned to Sasuke, whom already had the Sharingan activated.

"Since you've already unlocked the Sharingan, you should be able to perform this jutsu right off the bat with just small bits of practice. Now copy the hand-seals as I do them at normal speed," Kakashi instructed. The Uchiha nodded, copying his hand signs from the most minute of details perfectly. When he reached the last one, the snake seal, electricity elicited from both of his hands, making him stare in wonder.

"What now sensei?" Kakashi responded by clapping his hands together once, creating an electrical storm that expanded outwards. The noise that resounded caught the Uchiha's attention, it sounded like a Thunder Clap. A small shockwave could be seen from within the chakra-conduced clap of lightning.

"This jutsu is called **Raiton: Raimei**. It get's its name from the noise and impact created by it. The rank of this jutsu is determined by the amount of Chakra one invests into it, and I used a D-rank amount of chakra just now." Sasuke nodded and promptly created a **Kage Bunshin** to practice the jutsu with. Hopefully he could perfect the jutsu before the next attack came.

The three genin continued their specific training whilst Kakashi trained to get re-acclimated with his Sharingan alongside them, studying every move they made and pointing out the flaws in what they were doing until the sun reached its peak. The four decided to head back to the house and fill their bellies before setting out the very next day.

 **-The Next Day In Gato's Headquarters-**

Haku sighed as she glared at Zabuza as a mother would her child, "I told you before to be careful, but you didn't listen to me." Zabuza groaned and rubbed his neck tenderly before yanking out the senbon.

"Careful, you might injure yourself further," Haku warned with clarity in her voice.

Zabuza just shrugged off the warning before smirking at the brunette, not that the fourteen year old girl could see it. "Cruel as ever Haku."

"I was taught to be efficient."

Zabuza nodded as he said that. "You were taught well if I do say so myself."

"Are you boasting about yourself after a defeat," Haku teased, but Zabuza just growled and looked at his blade.

"Next time I won't lose to those bastards."

"You'd better not," said a short man as he came in the room, flanked by two thugs. "Or else are deal will be canceled."

He wore a suit with sunglasses and had light brown hair that spiked behind his head. "I hired you because I thought you could get the job done, but apparently that was the wrong choice," the man said, raising his voice as he walked closer to Zabuza with a smug grin on his face.

"I was in no way prepared for Kakashi Hatake, the S-ranked shinobi along with his squad of genin."

"Excuses!" The man reached out to hit Zabuza while he couldn't defend himself, but Haku grabbed his arm and squeezed tightly causing him to squirm under the pain.

"If you dare lay a finger him, I will not hesitate to kill you," Haku whispered dangerously, glaring at the man.

The chubby, short man stumbled backwards before he regained his balance and glared at the last descendant of the Yuki clan alive. Zabuza attempted to diffuse the tension and calm things down. "We will get them next time."

"You better; if you lose again you're out of this organization!"

With that, the short man Gato and the thugs that flanked him left the room, slamming the door behind them. The crime lord then turned to the two thugs behind him after the door was shut. "Go find people to hire; we have trash to get rid of."

However, he wasn't the only one making plans, behind the door Haku was also consulting with Zabuza. "How long do we have to deal with him?"

"He protects us from the real hunter-nin Haku."

Haku just sighed and looked outside. "I know."

 **-Later at Tazuna's House-**

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all came back into Tazuna's house exhausted, however they also felt accomplished. Sakura had managed to perform the genjutsu she was assigned very well and make headway into using the Suiton jutsu, although she was feeling highly drained afterwards and ready to faint, so Kakashi let her take a break in fear of chakra exhaustion. Sasuke on the other-hand finished learning the **Raimei** jutsu with ease due to his Dojutsu, and opted to spar with Naruto and his numerous cloneson a rapidly moving stream for three hours. Even if he did have much larger chakra reserves than Sakura did, he was still thoroughly exhausted and barely made it back to the house on his own two feet. As for the redhead, he also made headway into his jutsu at a rate even faster than Sakura due to his clones, but didn't finish honing it like Sasuke did. Once Kakashi deemed his use of the jutsu satisfactory for now, Naruto worked on his Taijutsu on constantly moving water with Sasuke and a bunch of **Kage Bunshin**. Due to Naruto's ridiculous chakra reserves, he had in no way mastered water walking. Yet he had managed to stand and fight on the water for a full twenty minutes before sinking and resurfacing to try again, which Kakashi deemed a good improvement. To make things even more challenging for the Uzumaki and the Uchiha, their sensei attacked from a distance at random with different jutsu's and weapons just to add the flair of unpredictable chaos.

Thus here they were, everyone in the household was sitting at the dinner table, with the genin of Team Seven eating like starved wolves, even Sakura, whom apparently had forgone any table manners she previously had in order to refill her energy. Needless to mention, it was quite a disturbing sight to see.

"Why do any of you even bother," was mumbled, however everyone heard it. Everyone turned to see Inari glaring at them, specifically the shinobi from Konohagakure.

"Care to repeat any of the words you just said kid?" Naruto asked, pausing his ferocious attack on the food in front of him.

"Why do you bother training? It doesn't matter in the ned, nobody can beat Gato." Tazuna and Tsunami looked at the ground in shame as Inari said this, and Naruto glared at the boy.

"Have you ever heard of heroes kid?"

"Heroes don't exist; they're just people that anyone could make up to make them feel better, just like now. What are you, stupid? There's no such thing as a hero! Nobody can beat Gato so why bother?"

"If nobody can beat Gato then I'll just find something that doesn't have a body and beat him," Naruto joked, smirking at the kid.

Inari growled at this and glared furiously at Naruto. "Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gato's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work, the weak will only end up getting killed! Who do you think you are anyways, barging into our town, our business and trying to pretend to be the saviors?! You don't know what it's like to face this; you don't know what it's like to suffer!"

The room got deathly quiet at that, for different reasons though. Sakura because she was in shock over the kids pessimistic attitude, Tazuna and Tsunami in shame of how their relative was acting, Sasuke because he was appalled that Inari had the gall to say he didn't know what it meant to _suffer_ , Kakashi because he was concerned of what Naruto might say to upset the kid, and Naruto…well lets not mention Naruto.

"We don't know what it's like to suffer? No, YOU don't know what it's like to suffer. Have you ever been forced to live on the streets, or the fact that your entire village hates you for a reason you didn't even know until recently!? What do _you_ know huh? I never got to know my parents because they died the day I was born. I was kicked out the orphanage at five years old because the caretakers hated me for a reason I never knew! I had to live in fear for our lives with my only friend at the time whom happened to stumble into the orphanage for A YEAR, even after the leader of my village gave me an apartment. Even when he did give me a home, all that did was tell the scumbags at home where I lived, and they ruined my place. No, they never attacked me much, they really only went after Goku, they just made where I lived a living hell on Earth for YEARS! I had to go through that for four years, _ESPECIALLY_ ON MY GODFORSAKEN BIRTHDAY!"

By now Inari was shaking in fear and everyone but Kakashi and Sasuke was staring at Naruto in disbelief. They couldn't believe that happy-go-lucky boy they had seen throughout the majority of the last part of this trip had gone through that and could endure it.

"I'd like to elaborate upon Naruto. What the fuck do you mean we don't know what suffering is, you don't know what suffering is. You lost your dad, okay get over it. I lost my entire clan to my damn idol who was also my aniki in one night. All my bonds, ripped away. To make matters worse he made me relive the massacre for seventy-two hellish hours. At least you still have a family, or in Naruto's case a good home. The truth is you don't know a damn thing about the real world. You dwell in your personal suffering when you're one of the best cases in your own village. You're not special, just another person who went through something in life, it happens. You're disgracing your family with your attitude and what they're trying to do, and it makes me sick you damn coward," Sasuke stated darkly, his Sharingan slightly morphing in six-pronged star.

"I've known suffering for my entire waste of a fucking life! You have a beautiful mother and kind grandfather who love you dearly, who would do anything for you! Have you gone outside for once in your fucking life! Have you seen the orphans that are outside, that are basically dying each day, surviving the very way I did to survive? Yet they aren't sulking! Your own fucking grandfather is trying to change YOUR life for the better by building this bridge. You're spitting in not only the orphans faces but also in your own grandfathers! YOU KNOW _NOTHING OF_ _ **SUFFERING**_ _!"_

Naruto had lost control of his emotions for a brief moment, allowing the Kyubi's influence to break through again and leak out palpable killing intent with the last word of his long tirade, although no one could blame him.

Naruto stood up from his chair and walked to the door, opening it quickly.

" **Don't** **follow me**!"

With that Naruto slammed the door strongly, causing the entire house to shake. Sakura and Sasuke were quiet as Inari ran up the stairs and into his room, although his crying was still heard all the way down the stairs. The dinner table was quiet for a while before Sakura decided to speak up, quite shocked by what Naruto said.

"Kakashi-sensei, is all of that true," Sakura asked. She felt a pang in her chest for her red-haired friend.

Kakashi looked at Sakura very harshly, although she could tell the anger was not directed at her, more so at the villagers back at the village. Kakashi then sighed and put his head down before looking at them with a much softer expression.

"Every last word. His parents died in the Kyuubi attack, fighting the beast and like many others he was put in an orphanage. The older generation, that he know knows why they hated him, then turned you, the younger generation, against him afterwards causing him to have no friends until Goku came along. The matron of the orphanage's hate eventually caused her to kick him out onto the streets where the villagers terrorized him, even if he wasn't completely alone. What they did…it was horrible, people were trying to kill him as a bonus to killing Goku. Then Hokage-sama gave him an apartment and a stipend, however as you know, the villagers took care of both of those, either by refusing to serve him, overpricing him, or attacking his apartment. Even when he joined the academy the majority of the instructors hated him so they stunted his growth and kept him weak until I helped train him up."

Sakura then noted something that was mentioned in both Naruto's and Kakashi's stories. "Wait, what is this thing that caused the villagers to hate him?"

Kakashi sighed. "I'm not at the liberty to tell you. Only Hokage-sama or Naruto can."

Sasuke frowned at that. While what Naruto went through was somewhat comparable to his he couldn't truly understand until he learned what this IT was.

' _Naruto..._ ' Sakura thought, her thoughts revolving around her usually cheerful teammate.

 **-With Naruto-**

Haku frowned as she saw the red-haired ninja lying on the ground. She walked up to his sleeping form, staring at the headband.

' _This must the red-haired brat Zabuza-sama was talking about. If I killed him now, wouldn't that make Zabuza-sama's job easier when the time arose_?' Just when the brunette began to prepare to kill Naruto, his eyes conveniently flew open and he grabbed the girls hands.

"Whoa," Naruto said, looking at the pretty girl in front of him. "Who are you?"

Haku smiled serenely, innocently. "My name is Haku, and I was just wondering if you were okay. It's not common to see an unconscious shinobi lying down on the ground around here."

Naruto let Haku's hands go, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess my anger from last night is still somewhere in my system," the Uzumaki said as he ogled at the girl publicly.

' _This girl is super pretty; she might be even prettier than Sakura-chan!_ '

Naruto didn't have time to continue his trivial thoughts as Haku interrupted him.

"So, why are you here?" Haku said as she went back top picking up herbs for Zabuza.

Naruto smiled. "I'm training with my team to take down some guy called Zabuza and this other guy called Gato, while also protecting this bridge builder," the redhead said before he realized his mistake. The mission was only ever supposed to be known between the client, the client's family, the village, and the shinobi team; curse his big mouth! However, he couldn't change it know, as it would seem even stranger if he did.

"Yeah, how about you, what are you doing here?" Naruto inquired, berating himself on the inside for what he revealed prior to his question.

"Getting herbs to heal a sick friend."

Naruto smiled. "Can I help?'

The female smirked. "Sure."

The two proceeded to gather the rest of Haku's herbs in relative silence, only stopping whenever Naruto decided to ask a question. It was a fast process as Haku had to leave before ten minutes was up.

"It was nice meeting you shinobi-san," Haku said, preparing to leave.

Naruto smiled. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto, the man who's gonna become Hokage one day."

Haku smiled back at him. "That's a nice name."

Naruto nodded at his own awesomeness and turned to leave before Haku asked a question. "Naruto-san, what do you think it means to truly be strong?"

Naruto turned and looked at Haku with a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean?"

Haku answered his question. "I believe that when people have something to protect…that is when they truly become strong."

Naruto thought about it for a moment before he gave one of his child-like grins. "I like that thought."

The girl nodded in agreement before staring at Naruto intently. "Do you have someone precious to you?" The redhead thought back on the question before multiple people sprung to his mind. His Jiji, Iruka, Kakashi, Hinata, Goku, Sasuke, Ayame, Teuchi, and Sakura.

"Yeah, almost ten people."

Haku smiled at that and turned officially, actually walking away this time. However, whilst she was walking away, she said one last thing to deny her gender.

"By the way, I am a boy."

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"


	15. A Failure Within The Victory

_Chapter 15: Condescending Failure Within Hardfought Victory_

* * *

 **-With Team Seven The Very Next Day-**

Naruto sighed as he watched his army of **Kage Bunshin** do some manual labor, with Sakura sitting right next to him. His S-ranked Jonin-sensei was helping Tazuna on his own, and Sasuke helped out with his own assembly of four **Kage Bunshin**.

"Why aren't you helping out Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"You're clones are doing more work than I ever could. And besides, I'm not physically strong enough to lift some of those things that you, Sasuke-kun, and sensei are."

"Some of them but not everything, you're still strong enough to help. Besides you could do the nails, or help the builders reach places that are difficult for them to reach. Or even doing something as simple as draining the water out of the wet cement."

Sakura simply sighed, knowing the redhead was correct. She would have continued the conversation until a man that stopped working on the bridge spoke up.

"Tazuna," a man said. Said person looked up and then turned to the man who called his name. "Tazuna…I'm sorry but I'm going to have to quit building this bridge."

The person in charge of the production of bridge widened his eyes. "Why? You've truly been one of the best helpers of this bridge, and it's almost complete too. We should be done with it in about a week."

"I understand that, but don't you think Gato knows about the bridge already? He's going to come for us either today or tomorrow and then he'll kill us. All of us. I can't risk that, so I'm sorry, but I'm gonna hafta call it quits."

"Damn cowards! You're almost done with bridge yet you call it quits NOW?!" Naruto spat in disgust.

Tazuna looked at the ground…a frown settling on his face. "I see. Does anyone else here share his thoughts?"

Multiple people, not all, but definitely over half of the work force raised their hands. Apparently they had been too embarrassed or cowardly to admit it the first time.

"Well, to all of you cowards I have one thing to say. Get the hell off of my bridge."

Many people put down their hats and started to walk all with a down yet relieved expression on their face. Naruto and Sasuke watched them leave with disgust on both of the boys faces, hell even Sakura was disappointed in them. People who had no will, no spirit…those people were all pathetic.

Naruto formed the **Kage Bunshin** hand-sign and produced nearly double the amount of people that left, but Tazuna shook his head.

"You've done so much for us already, I can't disrespect that, kid. You've been good to us, and nothing we could do could repay you, especially me. I think…I think you and Sasuke taught my grandson what it meant to be strong."

Naruto smiled and waved off the old man. "Don't worry about it. But, I think I'll actually start pitching in even more now," The redhead said, standing and going off to help out. Sakura walked after him and even joined him.

Sasuke continued to resume the work he did on the bridge and even found a way to train while doing so. " **Raiton: San**." Lightning appeared to the index and middle fingers for both hands, and he then put it over the cement to make it dry and become solid much faster.

 **-The Very Next Day-**

Approximately twenty-eight hours after the majority of the workforce quit, around four o'clock, a thick fog began to set in. At first it was light and no one was bothered by it as **Nami no Kuni** was usually hit with light, and sometimes heavy fog. However it started to come in a lot faster than usual and it felt denser…as if it was more…bloodthirsty. That warning alone let Kakashi know what was going on, and what was about to happen.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, protect Tazuna! Zabuza's back!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura wasted no time before jumping in formation around Zabuza, each with a serious looks on their faces. Kakashi stood in front of them, contemplating whether or not to unveil the Sharingan, realizing he could assassinate the rogue without it.

Footsteps were heard approaching them by all of the Konoha shinobi. Naruto channeled chakra into his nose and ears, determined to find out where the enemy was approaching from. The redhead then narrowed his eyes, realizing the enemy had no scent, and the footsteps seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. He couldn't find them and he growled lowly because of that fact.

A giant cleaver, Zabuza's blade, flew towards Tazuna's head. Luckily, Kakashi blocked the blade before any of his genin had a chance to react to attempt to save Tazuna. A deep chuckle was heard before another blade appeared in front of the Hatake's squad; however the one in front of him didn't disappear. Kakashi frowned. His hands were preoccupied so he couldn't perform a jutsu, and if he stopped this blade then the Kubikiribōchō would easily cleave off Tazuna's head. He had to place his trust in his genin for the moment.

Naruto ducked under the blade, pulling Sakura down with him, as Sasuke jumped backwards, pulling Tazuna with him. The chuckle heard earlier grew into full-blown laughter as the blade Team Seven avoided turned into water and so did the one Kakashi was blocking. They grouped together again only to see two forms walking from within the incredibly potent mist.

One was Zabuza and the other was that fake Anbu member that had saved him in their last battle.

"So you were with Zabuza after all," Kakashi remarked, glaring at both of them with one eye. "Seems my little assumption was correct."

"Everyone I'd like you to meet my friend, Haku."

Naruto's eyes widened. That name…that was the name of the guy he met when he slept outside, the guy who was, 'Getting herbs for a friend'. If what Zabuza said was true, that meant the friend was the main man himself, and the redhead had unknowingly helped the rogue recover. Damnit!

"Hello, Naruto-san," greeted Haku.

Naruto's eyes widened and everyone looked at the girl.

"You know her?" Both of them asked, their eyes wide.

Naruto growled. "He," the redhead said. "He said he was a boy, and I met him when I slept outside that one night. He said he was getting help for a friend, herbs for them…now I realize who that friend was."

Zabuza's grin couldn't be hidden from his mask. "Wait a minute. This is the brat who helped you Haku? When you said someone I knew I expected it to be the girl, but him?! He helped you gather the herbs to heal me, now isn't that funny."

Naruto growled. "I regret it now. More importantly, Haku! How could you do this? How could you follow someone like him?"

Haku didn't answer, which made the redhead growl. "If you won't say anything…then I'll just hafta make you talk!"

Naruto charged and the brunette charged back. Haku drew a senbon, slashing at him, but Naruto was quick enough to draw a kunai and block the slash. Sasuke, seeing the action truly begin, ran behind Haku, hand already cocked back for a punch. Yet it would never connect as Haku disappeared and reappeared to the side of both boys.

"Sakura, stay and protect the bridge builder. I'll kill Zabuza," Kakashi said, disappearing. Zabuza disappeared as well.

Naruto deflected three senbon that were aimed at him before ducking under a kick. He looked up, but Haku was gone, engaging in a fierce taijutsu bout with Sasuke. The redhead threw two shuriken before charging over, fist cocked back. Haku swiftly dodged the shuriken, spinning around Sasuke's punch and landing a roundhouse kick in the boy's side. Said boy dropped to the ground abruptly, but Naruto charged in on the scene, immediately intensifying the fight. Naruto drew a kunai, swiping at Haku's head, but she ducked, kicking him away. He flipped in midair, landing on his feet before charging. Haku charged back, senbon in her hand.

The duo's senbon and kunai respectively clashed in the middle of puddles of water. Naruto tried to overpower Haku, and it was working, however he then saw her doing one-handed versions of what looked like seals. However, he wasn't the only one; Sasuke saw it too and began to do his own seals.

" **Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō**!" The last surviving Yuki yelled.

The water from the puddles began to float in the air, taking the form of long, sharp needles made of water. There were a lot of them, and they surrounded the duo on all sides, except from above. However, Naruto didn't notice this one bit.

The needles shot towards Naruto and herself. Haku channeled chakra into her legs into the air and leapt into the air, avoiding all of the incoming needles. Sasuke would have fired his Katon jutsu, but cancelled the chakra flow just before he fired it off as at this point it would have only hit Naruto. The redhead growled as the needles closed in on him, and he didn't have enough time to get out the way like Haku did, so he was stuck with one option, try to blow them all away. Naruto sped through hand-signs as fast as he could, yet the water needles were closing in at frightening pace. Once they were within a foot away from him he finished going through the necessary steps.

" **Futon: Reppūshō**!" Naruto shot his hands outward in front of him, blasting those needles away. He then turned just as the other water needles were only three inches away from turning him into a pincushion.

Naruto sent chakra to his feet on reflex before jumping backwards, barely avoiding the needles that impacted where he was just standing. Haku scowled, but didn't have time to react as Sasuke shifted behind her, launching a punch. Haku ducked under it, but Sasuke sent a kick his way, landing it. The brunette was sent flying before she was hit in the gut by Naruto, sending her flying back towards the Uchiha whom roundhouse kicked her towards the railing of the bridge. Haku groaned as she stood, before looking at the two rookie shinobi.

"You both hit me, so it seems I will have to actually get serious." Haku then began to form hand-seals that neither of the two genin recognize. " **Makyō Hyōshō**!"

In an instant, multiple mirrors of ice were created, surrounding Naruto and Sasuke. They were trapped in a dome of twenty-one floating mirrors made out of ice. Twelve were at ground level, eight levitated above the first twelve and were angled towards the ground, and the final mirror was above the rest and facing the ground horizontally.

Haku walked up to one of the mirrors and seemed to have melted into it. Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes widened as Haku appeared on every mirror, causing them to be overrun with surprise at the turn of events. Each and every Haku then drew three senbon.

"Dance for me."

Sasuke had barely managed to flash his prized Dojutsu before Haku threw the senbon.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The dynamic duo both stood on shaky legs once again. They were covered in senbon and were bleeding, albeit slightly as senbon weren't weapons to make you bleed. Naruto growled and looked around, seeing only blurs on the mirrors of ice as Haku moved to fast for him to see clearly. Sasuke kept trying to track Haku with the Sharingan, but it was obvious that even his eyes had a hard time keeping up with the female. Another barrage, from the right. Naruto whipped out a kunai before he began to deflect as many senbon as he could, as did Sasuke. However, despite how fast the boys were some of the launched senbon slipped through their guard and impaled them.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura watched as Naruto and Sasuke were being pushed back, worry written all over her face.

"Hey, girly, will they make it through?" Tazuna asked.

Sakura wanted to say yes, she so badly wanted to, but the fact was she knew that if it kept up at this rate…NO! She refused to think about that. It was impossible. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't die…could they?

"Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke-kun and Naruto are in trouble!" She shouted, a look of worry on her face. "Urgh, why am I so useless!"

Tazuna saw the look on her face, and his concern grew. ' _Come on brats_ ,' he thought.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kakashi managed to hear Sakura's scream, but was too preoccupied with Zabuza to be able to look at what the girl was referring to. Another blade came at him, this time from the right side. He drew two kunai, holding each in reverse grip, before slamming them against Zabuza's blade, barely blocking the strike, although he did skid backwards quite a bit. The Kubikiribocho disappeared into the mist before it reappeared above Kakashi, intent on bisecting him. Kakashi blocked the blade, but came face-to-face with Zabuza.

"You're little brats are going to die," he said. "Haku is the perfect weapon, I've raised him since he was a kid, there's no way they could possibly defeat him, like you stand no chance of defeating me. We're weapons, as shinobi should be. We're just means to an end, tools. Shinobi don't need emotions, like you and you're pathetic Konoha preach."

Zabuza shot backwards before coming at Kakashi, a furious slash taking place. The silver-haired jonin channeled chakra into his arms and blocked the strike before ramming into the rogue with his shoulder, causing a red tint to come to the bandages right below Zabuza's nose.

"Even shinobi can't live without emotions. A man like you should know this more than anyone, Zabuza."

Zabuza growled, so he knew.

 **-Flashback no Jutsu-**

 _A shadowy figure dodged another kunai before slashing them down with their blade. They frowned before jumping, avoiding the hands the popped out of the ground before crushing their head._

 _"There he is, get him!" shouted three shadowy figures, all running towards him with swords drawn._

 _The figure narrowed its eyes before sprinting away, channeling chakra into its legs._

 _"Wait, stop! You are under arrest for going against the Sandaime Mizukage, treason!"_

 _The figure glared at the people chasing it over its back. "He's bloody mad! He doesn't understand that Kekkei Genkai aren't a disease!" The figure sped through hand-seals, moving so fast that the hands looked like they had been behind him before they just materialized in the hare seal._

 _"_ _ **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu**_ _!"_

 **-Flashback no Jutsu-**

Kakashi took the moment Zabuza used to recollect his past to glance at his students. He frowned. It was hard to see through the mist. but from the look of things the Haku kid had a Kekkei Genkai involving ice, and Naruto and Sasuke were stuck. Even with the Sharingan, without either one of the boys coming up with some brilliant plan, they were inevitably going to die.

"Did I mention that Haku also wields a Kekkei Genkai? I didn't. His Kekkei Genkai is so strong that even I can't break it, using all the strength I could muster. Those brats are as good as dead, Kakashi," Zabuza said with a smirk.

Kakashi growled. "I'll just have to kill you quickly then."

With that, the two jonin charged again.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Why aren't you already dead?" Haku asked as she threw another volley at them.

The senbon seemed to come from all directions, and as such Naruto and Sasuke were hit from all directions. They had long since given up on trying to deflect the senbon and were focusing more on protecting vital areas and actually finding the brunette.

"Do you find your pain entrancing?" Haku said as she appeared next to Sasuke, a senbon prepared to stab into his neck. However, because she had left the ice her speed had slowed, therefore Naruto was able to react in time, hurling a kunai at Haku. The brunette dodged the kunai by jumping, but her eyes widened, not that you could see it, when Naruto appeared with a kunai to her neck. The redhead was preparing to slash, but hesitated for a brief moment. Haku took advantage of this and span in midair, kicking the side of Naruto's face before switching her momentum, kicking Naruto in the other side of his face. Naruto flew to the side, smashing against one of the ice mirrors.

"Dobe," Sasuke called as he punched the unsuspecting fake hunter-nin in the chest, surprised to feel legitimate breasts instead of flat chest. He quickly deduced that Haku lied to everyone about his, or rather _her_ gender, but he quickly scratched that from his mind as it was unimportant. "Why did you hesitate!?"

Naruto frowned at Sasuke before looking at Haku whom was waiting patiently for them for some reason. "I dunno." The redhead stared at Haku, whom stared right back.

"You hesitated to kill me," Haku stated.

"And you didn't attack us while we were talking," Naruto retorted with equal fervor.

"It seems that meeting has made both of us unwilling to kill the other," Haku said before she disappeared.

Naruto frowned, looking around before he was sent flying, a punch landing in his face. Sasuke's eyes widened before he charged Haku, only to miss with a kick and be kicked into the air by the brunette. Naruto then stood and flew through a multitude of hand-signs, stopping on the hare. " **Futon: Daitoppa**!"

Instead of the high-pressured gale of wind coming from Naruto's hands, a large gust of wind coming from the redheads mouth charged at Haku like a torpedo. The brunette stared at the force of nature before evading; however she came face-to-face with a smirking Uchiha. Haku jumped backwards into the ice before the Uchiha could land a single strike.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "I can't believe I didn't try this before," he said, flowing through hand-signs before ending on the tiger seal. " **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**!" The Uchiha exhaled the massive ball of flame onto the ice mirror Haku was on, but as the steam dissipated it showed the mirror looking perfectly fine with only a few minor spots of ice-turned-water.

"What the hell?" Sasuke mumbled under his breath.

"Your pathetic excuse of a Katon jutsu cannot defeat me. Give up now," Haku said as she drew three senbon per hand, holding them between her pointer, middle, and ring fingers, along with her pinkie.

Sasuke growled. ' _Focus. Stay calm. Focus. Concentrate, see everything._ ' Even as multiple Haku's appeared on the mirrors, Sasuke stayed focused on one of them, the one right in front of them. Haku threw the senbon, but Sasuke dodged them, weaving through the hail before grabbing Naruto and helping his friend escape.

Naruto smirked. "Nice job, teme."

"Hn." Sasuke responded before strapping an explosive tag to a kunai. He tossed it at the mirror before flowing through the same hand-signs as before. He spat out the **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** once more, but even with the combined explosion, which he and Naruto had jumped to the edge of the prison to avoid yet still felt some of it's force and got singed, didn't damage Haku's ice too much, though the explosion certainly did more damage then the **Gokakyu** by itself.

"Impressive. That ice of yours…it's powerful, very powerful. To be able to withstand that is impressive," Naruto said.

Haku disappeared, moving from mirror to mirror, but frowned even though you couldn't see it. Even then, when moving at her top speed, Sasuke was still tracking her, carefully picking out which mirror she was in the same time Haku appeared in it. That made the brunette frowned. There was no way she could avoid the Uchiha, his eyes were just that damn good. There was only one solution, attack the person who couldn't see her move.

Haku shot from the mirror, senbon aimed for a lethal blow at Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened and he shot forward with great speed, appearing in front of Naruto, blocking the females senbon. Haku growled as she pushed against Sasuke's kunai to no avail, the Uchiha was physically stronger than she was.

"So I'm the liability in this fight, eh, teme," Naruto said as he appeared next to Haku, hand already in a seal. " **Futon: Daitoppa**!" Naruto forced massive amounts of chakra into the jutsu, sending of a high-powered stream of wind from his mouth like a hurricane that slammed Haku into her ice mirror. The brunette looked up painfully, her mask falling from her remarkably beautifiul face, cracked and broken from the power of the water.

"Do you know what it's like, Naruto-san, Sasuke-san? To lose someone precious to you?"

Sasuke shared a look of mutual understanding with the kunoichi, whilst Naruto looked at him strangely. "Allow me to tell you then, Naruto-san."

 **-Flashback no Jutsu-**

 _"Kaasan, look what I can do!" A young Haku asked, showing her mother the strange object made of ice. The Yuki began to move the object around, smiling all the while._

 _What she didn't expect was for her mother to slap her, a furious look on her face, although anyone, but a young four year old like Haku, could tell she was just worried for the Kekkei Genkai wielder._

 _"Don't ever do that again!" Her mother said, a frown ruining her attractive features._

 _Haku felt the tears strolling down her face, but nodded anyways and ran off to her room._

 **-Flashback no Jutsu-**

 _"Heathen!" Haku heard as she walked down the steps of her house to come face-to-face with a horrible sight. There was a mob outside, led by her father, and they were hurting her mother. They were poking and prodding at her with swords, spears, and dagger, while cursing her._

 _"Die you monster!"_

 _"Tousan, what are you doing to Kaasan?!" Haku cried out, tears on her face._

 _Her father looked up, a burning hatred and fear in his eyes. "You! You're a little monster too. I'll kill you too, just like I killed your whore of a Kaasan!"_

 _Haku froze as her father said that. "But, Tousan-"_

 _"DON'T TOUSAN ME YOU FREAK!" Her father roared, charging at her, blade prepared to kill. Haku screamed as the blade cut into her pale skin._

 _"Die!" The man screamed, bringing down his blade again. However, a wall of ice came up and stopped the sword. The man fell on his bottom before scrambling backwards, afraid of the girl who now stood, surrounded by ice, a confused look on her face before she registered the mob that were still defiling her mother and her scum of a father._

 _Haku didn't say a word, launching the ice-projectiles at them._

 **-Flashback no Jutsu-**

 _Haku looked up at the tall man dressed in a ninja's uniform with fear in her eyes. "Who are you, mister?"_

 _The man smiled, bandages covering the lower half of his face. "The names Zabuza…you're an orphan because of the civil war aren't you?"_

 _Haku tilted her head, confused "Civil…war?"_

 _Zabuza chuckled sadly. "You must have have had it rough kid. Come with me, I'll help you," Zabuza finished, extending a hand._

 _Haku looked at the hand before looking at Zabuza, then back at the hand. She slowly, hesitantly, put her hand on top of Zabuza's._

 **-Flashback no Jutsu Release-**

"That's what happened," Haku said, finishing her tale.

Naruto's eyes were soft as he heard that. "I'm sorry Haku…but I've never experienced that. I am sorry you had to endure it, but I've never gone through that," Naruto said, his eyes looking at the ground.

"So you don't know the pain…yet you have precious people?" Haku observed inquiringly.

Naruto looked up at the female. "Yeah, but why does that matter? You don't have to endure pain to have precious people."

"Because, you don't know how to protect them," Haku said right before disappearing.

Naruto's eyes widened before fifteen senbon struck him, all in different points of his body. The redhead promptly coughed up blood as he landed on the ground with a thud, down for the count. Sasuke rushed over picking up his friend's body before looking around, his eyes locked onto the solemn Haku's.

"Naruto..." Sasuke drawled out, a scowl forming on his face. Untold amounts of hatred formed within the Uchiha as unknown purple chakra unknowingly _oozed_ out of his body. "Haku...I'LL KILL YOU!"

He wove through hand-seals, but Haku appeared before him in a flash, right before he could finish. Sasuke flipped over the female, landing on the ground with about twenty feet away from the brunette. He stood quickly, checking the surrounding area for Haku, and then he spotted the girl with a senbon to Naruto's neck.

"Game over," Haku said. "He's as good as dead."

Sasuke scowled, an overbearing amount of rage forming when she plunged the senbon into his neck. Suddenly, he felt a nauseating dizziness impact his head, groaning at the throbbing headache beating against his skull like a drum. "You bastard!" Was all Sasuke managed to get out before unleashing these _black_ flames unconsciously, having no clue as to where they came from. The Uchiha's headache vanished, but then he felt some warm liquid trail down his eyes, and a _massive_ dent into his relatively large chakra reserves.

The ensuing Jutsu was a complete shock to Haku, and the look of Sasuke's eyes shocked her even more, it was something she never seen nor heard of. The Jutsu abruptly impacted her and knocked her off of Naruto, the flames causing a terrifying amount of agony. Using a Suiton Jutsu, the brunette attempted to wash the flames off of her body. However, the attempt went for naught, and a feeling of dread started to creep into her mind. When she turned back towards her ice-mirrors, she was completely caught off guard by the fact that they were melting into large pools of water by the black flames.

"This...is the end..for you!" Sasuke said in between pants. His chakra reserves were being depleted by the second, and he estimated that he had about a fifth of his chakra reserves left at most. And unlucky for him, the pain that came with this sudden surge of chakra was too much to bear; and just when he turned off his Sharingan, the flames withered into nothingness.

Haku slowly stood up, having multiple noticeable first to second degree burn marks on various different areas on her body. Zabuza's "tool" raised multiple senbon and prepared to end Sasuke's life, right then and there without a hint of mercy. "I'm sorry it's came down to this, but this where your life ends, Sasuke-san."

"Tch, damnit," The Uchiha cursed, anticipating the senbon to come until he noticed Naruto's body twitch minutely.

' _I can't give up…I've got to keep fighting. It's not over…I just gotta keep fighting. I WON'T give up…it's not over…keep fighting_!' Naruto thought, feeling his body heal rapidly for no other reason other than the fact that the **Kyuubi no Yoko** resided within him.

The redhead's eyes blinked open, and he slowly reached into his kunai pouch, trying to grab one without alerting Haku. However, Sasuke noticed this with a ghost of smirk on his face. "I'm not done yet!" Naruto roared aloud, announcing his presence to the world.

The Uzumaki slashed out with the kunai, surprising the kunoichi. Haku was stunned by Naruto's sudden burst of willpower, and as soon as the brunette tried move out of the way, the aftereffects of the burns caught up with her. Seeing his chance, the redhead shot forward, slamming a fist into he shinobi's _breasts?!_ before grabbing his arm and flinging him over to Sasuke. "Teme!"

"On it," was the reply. Sasuke slammed his knee into Haku's face, causing all the momentum the Yuki had to be transformed into an annoying pain. Her nose was broken, therefore causing her to bleed from both of her nostrils. Naruto and Sasuke appeared right in front of Haku before she could recover, both firing a blaring fist straight into the kunoichi's face. The Yuki stumbled backwards, but the redhead was upon her again, leaving Sasuke to watch.

"You were right Haku; precious people do give you strength!" Naruto slammed another punch in, and another before he fought like a madman, slamming fists into the girls body without any care in the world. "So I can't die!"

He continued to pummel Haku before he finished off his combination with a knee to her forehead, causing her to groan in agony.

"Cause I've got people to protect!"

Haku flew backwards, slamming into the only mirror that wasn't completely melted by the flames. However, upon impact the mirror cracked into millions of wet shards of ice, making the Yuki fall straight to the ground. The Yuki frowned, her face actually becoming distressed and angry, something that rarely ever happened.

"I have people I too have to protect. So…forgive me Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, but die! **Hissatsu Hyōsō**!"

The pools of water made of Haku's ice mirrors formed into four giant spikes of ice that flew straight towards Naruto and Sasuke, yet the duo avoided them, only being hit with small scrapes in their maneuvers. Dashing towards the downed kunoichi, the dynamic duo kneed her in the face, forcing her to ground exhausted.

"It's over Haku, you don't have any chakra left to spare!"

 **-With Zabuza and Kakashi-**

"Haku's taking a long time with those kids of yours… you should be proud, Kakashi."

"I am," said Kakashi, drawing a scroll from his jōnin vest. He figured taking him down now would be the best course of action now that Haku was struggling.

"Still, I don't think it'll be long before Haku joins us and finishes the old geezer off."

Kakashi chuckled, unrolling the scroll and smearing his blood ontp it. "Or maybe you're wrong," he said. "Perhaps it's _my_ students who will return victorious."

"Impossible."

"Zabuza… you don't know those kids the way I do. Still, neither group will be joining us victorious; this ends _now_."

"And what are you going to do, Kakashi?"

"I was an ANBU recently, Zabuza. I know a thing or two about tracking. For example…" Kakashi performed four seals in rapid succession while holding the scroll he'd smeared his blood on. " **Kuchiyose:** **Doton:** **Tsuiga** **no** **Jutsu**!"

And then he slammed the scroll against the ground.

"What?" questioned Zabuza. Seconds later, however, a pack of dogs burst from the ground and clamped onto Zabuza, weighing him down and locking up his already restricted movements thanks in part to the beat down he received from the Hatake.

"I can't see in this mist and you've mastered silent movement," said Kakashi. "But there's this funny sense called 'smell'. I believe that's _my_ blood on your sword?"

 _'Shit!'_ thought Zabuza.

"Yes! Go Kakashi-sensei!" Cheered Sakura as the mist began to clear. There was a large amount of water surrounding her and Tazuna, the result of numerous water clones that she'd destroyed through a variety of tools and tricks cobbled together using kunai, shuriken and even some explosive tags. She estimated she'd destroyed around ten weakling water clones.

Kakashi lifted his headband, exposing his Sharingan for the first time in the fight.

"This time, Zabuza, you're _not_ walking away," he said as he formed the three hand seals of his 'signature' jutsu. "You're finished."

 **-Back With Haku, Naruto and Sasuke-**

"What will you do now, Naruto-san?" Inquired Haku softly. Sasuke pondered what the connection between his teammate and their current enemy could be, but remained silent for the moment.

"You can't fight," said Naruto. "You don't have the chakra left for it." He closed his eyes, shrugging his shoulders. "I dunno."

"Kill me," said Haku simply.

"What the hell?" Sasuke responded abruptly, surprised at the suicidal thoughts running through the girls mind.

"Kill me. We shinobi are tools, Naruto-san. And I am a tool that failed when I was defeated by the two of you, my life serves no more purpose."

"Throwing your life away is meaningless," retorted Naruto and Sasuke in unison.

"That is the world we live in."

"Maybe that's the world _you_ live in," snarled Naruto. "But that's not the way I wanna look at it."

Haku sighed in response.

"So what if shinobi are tools?" Demanded Naruto hotly. "We're also alive! And as long as we are still alive, even if we fail, we can become stronger! Sacrificing yourself for another I can understand, but throwing your life away because you failed is downright stupid!"

"The dobe is right," said Sasuke, deciding to cut in once more. "To die without purpose is the worst thing for a shinobi. But to _live_ , even after failure, with purpose is the greatest thing any of us can hope for."

"Perhaps… you are right," said Haku. "But I serve Zabuza-sama; my loyalty to him is absolute."

"That doesn't mean you need to die meaninglessly," stated Naruto.

"No… I guess it doesn't." Suddenly, Haku jerked slightly, causing Naruto and Shino to tense up. The mist was starting to fade, and to their surprise, she smiled slightly.

"Naruto-san… you're right," she said. "There is still something I can do with my life." She closed her eyes. "Naruto-san… and you, Sasuke-san… never forget what true strength is."

Knowing that the female was about to go throw her life away for Zabuza, the duo nodded to one another. Before she could move, the Uchiha struck a pressure point in the females neck and incapacitated her, making her go into the state known as unconsciousness.

 **-Back With Kakashi and Zabuza-**

" **Raikiri**." Kakashi named as he removed his blood-coated hand from Zabuza's back. Anyone who looked through it could see straight through Zabuza, along with the damaged lung that Kakashi had punctured.

The blue, concentrated form of electrical, or Raiton, chakra in Kakashi's hand faded, although Zabuza smirked and coughed, more blood staining the inside of his mask before he ripped it off, revealing shark-like teeth.

"So, that's your famous **Raikiri** huh? Very impressive." Zabuza said as he fell to his knees.

"Yeah…one of my aces in the whole," Kakashi said, looking at the dying form of Zabuza.

The Momochi smirked. "Well…looks like I lose. If you ever see Haku again, can you do me a favor?" The rogue requested, a sad look appearing in his eyes. "Tell him I said…happy birthday."

With that Momochi Zabuza…the Demon of the Hidden Mist...fell dead.

' _Even a man like you couldn't completely cast off your feelings. I'll do it, Zabuza_ ,' Kakashi thought, before looking over at his team much easier as the mist was clearing, as the man he fought was dead. He walked over to them, a relieved smile, not that you could see it, etched onto his face.

"Did you defeat that guy, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked with her eyes wide.

"Yup, he's dead for real this time."

"Thank you," Tazuna said. The shinobi looked at him, wanting him to continue. "For protecting me like this. You didn't have to."

"Well isn't this a cute sight," called a voice.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw a short man walking towards them with a very large mass of people behind his back. "No way," the redhead whispered, seeing all of them. "So many dumbasses."

Kakashi's eye's widened and began to prepare himself for combat, as did his genin squad.

"Careful," Tazuna said with anger written all over his face. "That's Gato," he said, pointing to the short man.

Naruto growled. "Good. I'll kill him right now then." The redhead prepared to start his assault on the illegal business tycoon and his group of nobodies, however Gato stepped forward, a sinister smile on his face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Gato said, smiling. Kakashi frowned, looking at the little shrimp as if he were an idiot. Even with this amount of thugs behind him, all of them combined couldn't defeat his squad. Hell, Naruto and Sasuke could kill them all solo, and he knew for a fact that he could slaughter them in less than a minute.

Gato smiled and waved his hand, the thugs threw forward a person. Tazuna's eyes widened before they narrowed with unfathomable anger. "Tsunami!" He roared, looking at his naked daughter whom was tied and bound in a rope. Her throat was constricted, as were her mouth, wrists, and ankles. Lastly, there were vast amounts of tears flowing down her face, as if she had seen and experienced something horrible. As if she had lost something, or someone, precious to her.

"Let her go!" Tazuna roared, his eyes filled with nothing but hatred.

Gato smiled. "Oh, I will, if you do what I ask."

Tazuna growled and took a step forward, but Kakashi put his hand back, stopping him from insinuating a death charge, for him at least. The crime lord frowned. "Well, I in case you did act like an idiot I did have some extra motivation for you to listen to me."

Gato smiled, and waved his hands again. One of the thugs came over to the board which had Inari on it and smiled, unsheathing his blade. Inari had tape rapped around his mouth to keep him from talking, and his body was chained to the board that was rolled up. The thug then put the sword at Inari's neck, smirking in a sinister manner and decapitated Inari, a child no older than eight years old, in front of everyone.

"Now, comply to my demands," Gato spoke with mirth in his voice, obviously amused by the child's blatant assassination. "As for my demands, what I want is-"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, actually having to hold Tazuna back as the man screamed bloody murder - multiple things along the lines of "go fuck yourself you piece of shit" - and tried to bully the Jonin away, yelling at the man for stopping him. The genin glared at the laughing Gato with intensity all showcased within their eyes. This man, no, he wasn't a man, he was more of a demon in human form.

Naruto couldn't stand it any longer, immediately jumped into action, charging Gato and his thugs. The thugs all smiled.

"Naruto, don't!" Kakashi shouted, but in his moment of distraction Tazuna brushed past him, charging them with the redhead.

They halted immediately. The same thug that had decapitated Inari to them had his blade to Tsunami's neck and was slowly, but surely, carving through her esophagus, in front of them. Sakura stood wide-eyed, unable to take her eyes away from the sight. Sasuke cursed and stood in front of her, hiding it from her sight. It was then that she snapped out of it and sniffed, almost crying. The Uchiha turned around and put a hand on her shoulder, although he was looking at Gato, Sharingan spinning in hatred. Naruto eyes flashed crimson, and he wanted nothing more than to rip the bastards throat out and shove it into the man's mouth.

Kakashi cursed under his breath, he couldn't believe he had been so blind. He now realized he shouldn't have brought everyone to the bridge to help them finish it. He should have left someone at Tazuna's house to guard them. He just never thought Gato would stop by the house first and he was too busy training up his squad, a simple miscalculation that cost Tazuna his family.

' _To hell with a plan, Gato and his whole organization die together, right now_ ,' Kakashi thought in anger as he looked at his genin squad.

Gato then looked at two of his men in particular. "We've lost our leverage, now I have no reason to leave them alive. Kill Tazuna, kill all of them!"

One of the men he had spoken to were eyeing a certain pink-haired kunoichi at the moment, with a perverse grin. "What about the pretty rosette over there?"

"You can do what you will with her, just kill the rest of them!" Gato responded

That seemed to excite both of the men, disturbingly lecherous grins on their faces. "You got it boss, they're as good as dead!" The two went through hand-seals, quickly making it obvious that they were rogue shinobi in disguise. " **Suiton** : **Mizu** **no** **Dangan**!"

Multiple water projectiles morphed into bullets quickly shot towards Tazuna and Sakura, the latter standing in front of the former. Sasuke's eyes widened as he prepared to move, but before he could push her out of the way, Naruto instantly stood in front of the rosette. Before the redhead could even register how he moved that fast to save Sakura and Tazuna's life, he experienced the single worst pain he had ever had in his chest. He looked down and saw multiple bleeding holes, and he then looked at Kakashi whom had his lone eye widened. The Uzumaki coughed, causing blood to be spewed from his mouth. Faster than he could even register, more water bullets shot towards him with such force that it pushed him off the bridge and into the cold river below. His world began to blacken, the last thing he heard was Sakura's voice screaming his name, and the last thing he saw were the tears brimming on said female's eyes.

 **-Naruto's Mind-**

Naruto groaned as he awoke, only to be faced with an unfamiliar setting. He was in a sewer, with water flooding the ground, reaching up to his ankles. There were pipes along the ceiling, some blue, and some red that were leaking the chakra he had felt not even a minute ago.

The redhead then felt it, _massive_ chakra. Whatever that aura belonged to was somewhere nearby, very close in fact. Naruto wandered the sewers, still trying to figure out where he was and where that aura came from, only to reach a large room with a metal cage and a piece of paper that had the kanji for 'Seal' on it.

"What the hell?"

A set of crimson eyes appeared and bore down on him, along with large, canine teeth.

" **Welcome vessel,** **TO YOUR MINDSCAPE**!"

The creature's massive roar sent water flying into the air and the Uzumaki had to guard his head and channel chakra into his feet to stand, and even then he was still sent skidding backwards.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked the massive creature, just as a form came into view.

It was a giant kitsune with red-orange fur and red eyes. It possessed the upper-body structure of a human, complete with apposable thumbs on its clawed hands. It seemed to be shrunk down, although Naruto assumed that if it wasn't and stood at full height then it was the same height as the Hokage Tower at least, which was saying a lot. Naruto dared say a full grown man was smaller than one of its nails. And even then, Naruto felt it's size was still being limited.

" **I AM THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE**!"

"Th-The-the Kyuubi no Kitsune?" Naruto mimicked.

Kyuubi looked at Naruto as if he was an idiot. " **No I'm your mother, of course I'm The KYUUBI NO KITSUNE**!"

"No need to get all huffy, sheesh," Naruto said.

The Kyuubi growled and slammed one of its paws on the cage, although the bars didn't even shake, however the water inside and outside the cage was sent flying.

" **Do not mock me, BOY**!" The almighty Bijuu roared, its eyes snarling. " **Or I'll shred you where you stand**!"

Naruto looked at the creature skeptically. "You can't hurt me can you? There's a seal preventing you from doing so."

Kyuubi growled.

Naruto smiled. "So I was right. Unless I go in that cage or get too close, you can't exactly harm me. You're...wait…that would mean that you're sealed inside me, meaning this is my mindscape."

Kyuubi snorted. " **My aren't you the perceptive one. Yes, this is your mindscape, and yes I am unfortunately sealed inside a weak runt like you**."

"I wouldn't call myself a weakling."

" **Sure, to a genin you and your squad are pretty damn powerful. Yet compared to something like me, you're just trash not even worth scratching**."

"What's that supposed to mean you damn fox?" Naruto roared.

" **You know what it is I mean, mortal. Now, unless you have something important to say, GET OUT**!"

"Not until you tell why I'm here!" Naruto responded with some fire still in his eyes.

" **You're dying** ," the Kyuubi stated flatly, as if he was talking about the weather.

"I'M WHAT!?" Naruto asked disbelievingly, before growling. "Explain you overgrown fuzzball!"

The Kyuubi turned its body away from Naruto, showing the boy his nine tails that slammed into the cages bars. And then the very next second the redhead came face-to-face with a claw and a snarling face, along with a burning crimson chakra orb in the Kyuubi's mouth.

" **Don't ever call me that. I'm not familiar with you, nor have I accepted you as someone worthy to talk to me, I could kill you if I so desired. Take one more step forward and I'll slice off your head**."

Naruto smirked at the Kyuubi, backtracking a bit as he did so. "You won't kill me though. When I die, you die fuzzball. You're sealed inside me. Too bad, I guess if you had enough time then maybe you could break out of here some other way. But that's not gonna happen now, because I dying, right?" The Kyuubi didn't have any answer to that. Naruto then went for the kill, the only chance for him to survive lying on the Kyuubi's decision. "Unless…"

" **Unless what,** _ **human**_?"

"Unless you lend me some of your chakra so I can heal and survive. It's either that or we're both dead for good!"

" **Watch it human, you don't know a thing about Bijuu's**!" The fox growled. " **I can't die, I'll be dispersed for three years if you die, but I WILL survive**!"

He was silent for a few seconds, before continuing. " **As much as I despise your existence, YOU are representing ME; and there's no way** _ **my**_ **vessel is going to be killed by a bunch of thugs not worth scratching**!" Red mist began to emit from the cage, and it centered around Naruto. First only a little, then more and more until the Uzumaki couldn't see the Kyuubi no Yoko in front of him.

 **-Back In The Legitimate World-**

Sasuke glared at the two whom had killed Naruto with imminent death practically being _promised_. Before the two contracted shinobi could even react, the thug behind them was replaced using **Kawarimi** by the dark-haired shinobi from Konohagakure. Weaving through hand-signs at a speed he didn't know he could weave them, hands covered with budding Raiton-chakra.

And then two rage-fueled words was the last thing either of the two rogue shinobi heard. " **Raiton: Raimei**." A miniature clap of thunder could be heard from every living thing on the bridge, and the sound that accompanied it were the harsh screams of the two supposed killers of Naruto and a dozen of the surrounding thugs. The results of the jutsu left fourteen people completely electrocuted, and a vengeance seeking Uchiha whom happened to kill two more thugs throat with a kunai swipe.

"You're all gonna fucking die," Sasuke muttered loud enough to be heard by all of the thugs and Gato, running through a few more hand-seals and ending on the tiger. " **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**!"

With the flame spewing out of the rookie's mouth came the screams of pain and terror emitting from Gato's over half a thousand thug-manned army. The C-ranked jutsu, while ordinary to some - was absolutely _devastating_ to the weakling gangsters - nearly a dozen of a dozen of the "army" perished within the flames.

And then came the voice of a familiar redhead: " **Tajūu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

Hundreds of clones sprang from anywhere in sight, on the water, on the bridge, hell even behind the thugs. The original Naruto growled and raised his fist, landing on the bridge near Sakura was crying. "You guys know what to do!" He roared in anger, and charged into battle with his clones. Sasuke, after being relieved at the sight of the redhead being alive, continued what he started. This time, Kakashi joined in with his students and Tazuna, after picking up a stray blade, ran after the shinobi. Sakura stood back, wiping her tears and letting out a sigh in relief over the thought of Naruto being dead vanquished, and joined in the massacre.

Needless to say what ensued was a complete bloodbath. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, even Tazuna and Sakura slaughtered their enemies. They all killed, either with fists, weapons, or jutsu. When the bloodbath ended after only a few minutes, only Gato was left alive, and they were all covered in blood, none of which was their own. Tazuna was dangling Gato over the edge of the bridge with one hand.

"You're filthy fucking trash! You killed my boy you fucking piece of shit! You killed my boy, and then you killed my daughter after clearly raping her!" Tazuna kept repeating as he slammed blow after blow in Gato's face, each one hurting more and more. The piece of trash tried to defend himself, but Tazuna swatted that arm away.

"Please, have mercy one me," Gato mumbled out weakly.

Tazuna's eyes widened with rage and an impossible amount of hatred. "Mercy! Mercy! You killed my grandson! You raped and killed my daughter! You defiled my village! And you have the nerve to ask for mercy?! Did you ever show US any mercy you fucking bastard?!" Tazuna said, slamming another blow in Gato's face.

"P-P-Please, f-forgive me," Gato said, trying his hardest to get out of his current predicament.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura; all three of them changed their opinions of Gato right then and there. He wasn't a demon. He wasn't a monster. He was a coward, scum, worse than trash, the lowest of the lowest of the low. He was nothing more than a flat out _bitch_.

Tazuna slammed blow after blow into Gato, the man sputtering up blood each and every time. The bridge builder was delivering his own form of vengeance, and he was going to make the man suffer many times the price he had suffered ever since the tycoon had come to Nami.

And then he changed his mind, that piece of shit didn't deserve to live any longer than he already did. Cocking back his hand, the old man brought his fist forward and punched him to the bridges floor, making a large gash appear on the right side of his face. Seeing nothing but red, he picked up a stray hammer and pounded the piece of shit's face until it literally caved in on itself, looking like a red glob of flesh with the shattered pieces of his white skull and scattered pink brain matter around the top of the red configured glob that used to be Gato's face.

After seeing that the deed was beyond done, the man tossed Gato's body into the river, not wanting to even glance at it ever again. Tazuna walked over to his daughter with a slatted throat and broke down into a sobbing mess, holding his killed daughter tightly. Team seven watched him with sadness, with nothing but disgrace etched onto their faces. They had failed them. Both Inari and Tsunami had died because they were incompetent.

"Don't look so down," Tazuna said, tears clearly on his face. The squad looked up at the man, and he smiled at them, although they could tell it was very forced. "I don't blame you for any of this. You did the best you could."

The squad looked at the ground in shame, and even if he did mean it didn't deny the truth. Inari and Tsunami had died because they have been overconfident; they hadn't calculated all of the angles. They just thought Gato would show up to the bridge alone, and that they would win in the end.

' _I failed them…I should've overseen Gato raiding the village before making his way here, damnit,_ ' Kakashi thought.

' _If only I was stronger…then this wouldn't have_ _occurred_ ,' Naruto thought.

' _Tazuna_ _experienced the pain of loss too. I have to improve, I don't want anyone to ever feel like that on my watch again,_ ' Sasuke thought.

' _I was such a burden. If I wasn't such a burden then I could have protected them and prevented this_.' Sakura thought.

Their thoughts were positively negative, and they couldn't shake them. How could they? Because of them their clients' only family had died. No matter what he said there was no forgiving that, there was no apologies, only grief, shame, and sadness. Kakashi sighed and walked over to Zabuza, hiding his head from view before he took out a scroll. He cut off the rogue's head with a kunai before essentially cremating him with a Katon jutsu. He sealed the head in a scroll, frowning.

' _On the plus side money can be made…I sound like an ass_ ,' Kakashi thought. He then looked at Zabuza's blade, the Kubikiribocho. The proper thing to do, if he wasn't a ninja, would be to give it to Kiri, or Haku. The first option offered better relations with Kiri, and the other allowed the boy to either make his peace or hate them forever.

"Do any of you want Zabuza's blade?" Kakashi said to his genin as Tazuna walked off the bridge to give both Inari and Tsunami a proper burial. None of them thought deserved to be there at the burial.

Sakura shook her head. "I doubt I could even lift it." Naruto shook his head too. "I'm not a sword type of guy." Even Sasuke shook his head. "It belongs with Haku."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke. He had a point, the boy deserved to have the sword, it was the least they could do in Zabuza's honor. The S-ranked Jonin nodded and sealed the blade into a scroll, not wanting to have to deal with carrying it around.

The Hatake sighed and turned to walk off towards Tazuna's home, Sakura following behind him. "Let's go."

Naruto turned back and looked at Haku's unconscious form, knowing it would be wrong to just leave the girl lying there. "Teme, can you get Haku since you're closer?"

Following his rivals gaze, Sasuke saw the kunoichi and sighed, walking over to her and pulling her over his shoulder. "I got her, now let's go."


	16. Upping The Intensity

_Chapter 16: Upping The Intensity_

* * *

 **-In Reality-**

"AH!" Yugao let out a scream before she got up, her eyes completely wide. The jonin looked around at her surroundings frantically, and instead of the battlefield in Taki no Kuni, she was in her bed in her apartment within Konoha. There was no battlefield, no missing ninja, and no corpses of her students, making her sigh in relief.

"Good…everything's fine. They're okay, they're all alive." She told herself, breathing a bit faster than normal. "…damnit, I can't get that fight out of my head."

Ever since the battle against Oroka, the former Anbu had been having nightmares, which were uncharacteristic for her. They all involved her students being killed brutally at the hands of Oroka and always end just as the man is killing her too. The nightmares got worse with each subsequent one; the last one in particular surpassed the others when the image of her beloved boyfriend, Hayate Gekkou, appeared in her dreams decapitated on the cold hard ground.

Yugao immediately got out of bed, grabbed a glass bottle of sake from her kitchen, and strolled out into Konoha. It was early morning; the sun was just starting to rise. The recently appointed jonin walked while drinking her sake, trying to clear her mind. She was currently mulling over the reason she believed she was having the nightmares.

' _We should have died, there's no other way to slice it. It seemed like Kami himself intervened to prevent us from being killed,'_ Yugao thought bitterly. _'If Goku didn't rise to the occasion…if Oroka_ _hadn't wasted so much chakra in our fight without reason…if Goku didn't hold him off long enough for me to kill him...if those lucky string of events didn't happen, we'd all be KIA.'_

The former Anbu started to chug on her bottle. After finishing it off, she threw the damn thing at the side of a building for no reason at all. _'I couldn't do anything for minutes! All of us got paralyzed and that was it for me, I was helpless just like my students. I couldn't help them…I couldn't save any of them from death. It's my job to protect them and teach them right, and I failed thus far. Hell, they had to protect themselves during the fight!'_

Yugao's walking soon turned into running, heading towards the training ground. ' _I messed up badly, and now it's time to fix that. I have to make sure I improve so something like that doesn't happen again. I have to get stronger so I can protect them and carry out missions against powerful shinobi with more success, and I have to get them stronger so they can protect themselves if need be,'_ Yugao thought. All of the rage over her nightmares and the incident were converted into determination to improve.

Her speed increased as she continued to head to the training ground, ready for a workout of her own before she met up with her students.

 **-With Team Eight-**

Goku, Hinata, and Shikamaru could clearly tell there was something wrong with their sensei. On a usual day when they arrived early, the members of Team Eight would sit and chat before starting the usual warm-up. Today, Yugao immediately had them start their warm-up without any hesitation whatsoever.

The warm-up, in itself, was very odd. Yugao had tripled the work she traditionally assigned, and it could almost be compared to half of the work Gai assigned to his team on a regular, key word almost. This caused her students a lot more pain then usual, Hinata and Shikamaru in particular.

The three genin were in the middle of push-ups when Hinata fell to the ground in exhaustion. However, she didn't have time to rest as Yugao had tossed a kunai right in front of her face, alarming her.

"We aren't done yet, keep up the work," She ordered sharply.

"I'm..." Hinata gasped as she continued her work, breathing hard and being very slow with it. "Super...tired."

"Give her a break Yugao-Sensei!" Goku said while doing his push-ups with fervor. "After all the running, the sit-ups, and all the other crap you've had us do, we're exhausted!" In truth, the only reason the Saiyan was exhausted as well is because he didn't use his Senzu bean to heal his wounds from the A-ranked mission, thinking that it would be a waste to use it after the mission. He wanted to heal the natural way, but the truth of the matter is that the residue of the fight was still there, he was still debilitated physically somewhat. But he was a warrior, and if he could bother to move then he could bother to train; no matter what.

"The enemy doesn't give a damn if you're exhausted. In fact, they'll actually be excited because it makes you easier to kill," Yugao retorted, giving her spiky-haired student a pointed glare. "Now stop whining and focus on the work in front of you."

Goku had nothing else to say. He just continued silently with the warm-up, pushing himself to his limits and beyond as always. After another good ten minutes of doing push-ups, Yugao had stopped the warm-up. Her three students immediately fell to the ground in pure exhaustion, or in Goku's case, pain.

"Alright, now we'll work on something else. I'm going to work on your reflexes!" She said.

Immediately as she said that, kunai came flying at her students. Hinata and Shikamaru were able to dodge in time, but Goku was hit by one in the leg. He winced a bit in pain, but he shrugged it off immediately and ripped it out of his bandaged left leg.

"What the hell was that for?!" He cursed.

"You should have dodged that easily." She stated sharply, no remorse on her face.

"We're exhausted and I'm physically injured still!" Goku retorted back. "That was uncalled for."

"And like I said, enemy shinobi don't care on the battlefield. Now, get back to work. Dodge properly and that should be the only injury you get," She replied before launching more shuriken and kunai at full speed. Her students immediately shot up and started to hurry out of the way of the attacks of their sensei, with Goku fuming at his sensei's recent attitude.

 **-Thirty Minutes Later-**

By the end of the session, Yugao knew her students needed a break. Hinata and Shikamaru were close to passing out from exhaustion and Goku was taking too many injuries from his sensei since he wasn't in his best condition.

"Alright, take half an hour to cool down." Yugao ordered her students. They didn't have to be told twice! Shikamaru promptly took a nap right on the spot. Goku and Hinata then sat down and tried to ease their aching muscles.

'… _Maybe I'm being a_ bit _too hard on them.'_ The former Anbu noted to herself. _'…I'll work on something I think they all will enjoy for the individual stuff. And I'll try to take it a little easier tomorrow, but I'm not going to soften up too much. I need them as tough as possible if we ever have to go on a mission of that magnitude again.'_

 **-Another Thirty Minutes Later-**

Half an hour passed by quickly, and the three genin stood up and got ready for more training. All three were still incredibly sore, but were feeling better than they had earlier. Yugao immediately made two **Kage Bunshin**. "Okay, I'll be working with Shikamaru for today. Goku and Hinata: you both have my clones. Now, you know the dirll, let's get back to work."

The two clones immediately went off with their respective students, heading in their own direction. Shikamaru was then left alone with his sensei.

"Okay Shikamaru, it's about time we finally worked on something I can legitimately teach you. We've worked on your reflexes, your strength, speed, your mind, and all the other physical things each and every time. Today we will work on something to give you an edge against other shinobi," Yugao told him, a slight smirk on her face.

"So what will we be working on this time?" Shikamaru asked.

His sensei nodded in response. "It's about time we started working on your elemental ninjutsu. This'll also give you some offensive attacks rather than just showering your opponent with explosive-tagged kunai. Now, watch my hand movement closely."

Yugao then ran through a few hand signs before slapping her palms onto the ground and channeling chakra into it. " **Doton** **:** **Maruishi Tounyuu**." Multiple boulders that were within the jutsu's vicinity launched, one after another. The giant rocks made direct contact with nearby trees, either knocking them over or going straight through them.

"It's pretty easy to learn as far as Doton jutsu go and also packs quite a punch. You can also use your **Kagemane** jutsu's underneath the boulders that you launch. And knowing how brilliant you are, you can probably come up with your own tactics for it."

"Hmm…" Shikamaru actually grinned at seeing it in action. "…I could actually work with this."

"You'd better. Anyway, I want you to try and do it," Yugao ordered.

The Nara nodded and made the same hand signs he saw his sensei make. He then took in a deep breath and attempted to launch some rather small boulders. Instead, however, he only launched one boulder and said boulder split into pieces.

"Heh, you're only just starting with Doton. Expect the jutsu to malfunction at the moment," Yugao told him with an amused smile on her face.

"…Troublesome…" Shikamaru remarked and with that said, the two immediately continued to work on the jutsu.

 **-With Hinata-**

One of Yugao's clones led Hinata away from everyone, near a small clearing surrounded by wooden posts. When the two arrived there, the clone turned and faced the Hyūga.

"Alright, you've gotten good with the crossbow. You know more than I can possibly teach you now, so you're going to have to improve on your own with it, or maybe get some lessons from someone else." She informed her student, Hinata nodded in understanding. "So we'll have to work on something else for today, Ninjutsu in particular."

The clone then pulled out a blue scroll and tossed it to her student. Hinata grabbed it and looked at its title. " **Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu**?"

"C to B-Ranked Katon Style jutsu. Primarily be used at mid to long range. You turn your chakra into flames with the same amount of chakra as the **Goukakyu no Jutsu** and then spit it out in the form of smaller flame balls going in any direction. The more chakra you have, the more flames you cant spit and the larger said flames can become," She explained.

"You seem to know a lot about multiple types of jutsus' Sensei." Hinata noted.

"Of course I do," Yugao's clone scoffed in response. "I'm a Jonin-sensei, I'm required to have decent knowledge on all of the elements. It's always good to be versatile just in case you fight certain opponents, which in turn makes you a balanced shinobi."

Hinata nodded in understanding before she turned her attention to the scroll. She was already studying the basics of it and the required hand signs.

"Heads up: you will fail the first time you try and it will burn in your mouth. It may be C-Ranked, but it's complexly simple. It's going to require you to concentrate a lot of chakra in your mouth and enough control to only unleash portions of it at a time, unlike the **Goukakyu no Jutsu** ," She informed her student. "Keep practicing though. The important thing is that you get this jutsu down eventually, so don't stress if it's taking longer than you'd like."

"Hai," Hinata agreed as she placed the scroll down and made the necessary hand signs. " **Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu**."

The Hyuga heiress concentrated her chakra into her mouth and attempted to create the jutsu herself. The end result caused the girl to go into a coughing fit, losing concentration on her jutsu and having smoke exit her mouth and nose.

"That's about what usually happens on the average first attempt on that jutsu," Yugao's clone said as she watched her student continue her coughing. She eventually went over to her, and patted her on the back, helping her out.

"Well because of that coughing fit, I can tell that you've got the chakra concentration part down relatively well. Now we just need to work on splitting said concentrated chakra into different flames," The clone stated. "How about I demonstrate for you before you try again?"

Hinata nodded and the clone started to make hand signs, ready to demonstrate the jutsu once more. Hinata watched dutifully, hoping to recreate the jutsu herself quickly.

 **-With The Saiyan-**

The second clone of Yugao led Goku to an empty part of the training ground that was barren: no trees, no training posts, nothing but the grass beneath them.

"Okay Goku, let's work on-" The clone started.

"Wait Sensei, can we work on a new technique?" The teen asked as he ripped the bandages off of his banged up arms. "I've taken some inspiration from that Akatsuki guy's Raiton Jutsu's, and it'll just be a torrent of Ki blasts."

Yugao's clone gave the boy a curious look, until she realized what he was saying.

"So like a rapid fire type thing?" She questioned.

"Yeah, like when he struck us with lightning more than once, so can we work on it?" He asked again.

"…Eh, sure. Since you don't have Chakra, I don't have much to truly teach you." She shrugged, changing the plans for her strongest student. "Yeah, we can work on the attack. Now, have you ever tried it yet?"

Goku shook his head. "No, I literally just made it up. I kinda would have preferred to start practicing it with you in case I screw up. I figured you could help me with any problems that I have with it."

"Fair enough. Understand though that I really don't know much about Ki, so I don't know exactly how much help I'll be with this." She said before tossing the scroll back to Goku. "Now, just try it I guess! And aim it on the ground or in the sky, not towards me."

Goku nodded before he looked to his hands, accumulating as much ki into his palms as possible. Then, positioning his arms, he prepared to launch his thereby made-up attack. " **Kame Sandan**!" The Saiyan shouted. He moved his hands forward, unleashing a few turret's of Ki with both hands. However, it turned out to be much too weak and all of them exploded immediately, right in the Saiyans face.

"Ah! Damn it, what the hell was that?!" Goku cursed as his ass was on the ground, black smoke and ashes all over his face. Yugao's clone, after witnessing the attempt, tried stifling her laughter at her students failed attempt, and halfway succeeded. "Oh Kami, that reaction was priceless!"

Her stifled laughter only made Goku snicker himself at his failed attempt, and then push himself up from the ground. "Hey, Sensei! Quit laughing and give me some useful advice or something!"

"I...can't," She replied between laughs. "You wanted to do this, so you should fix the problems you make with it on your own. I'm only here to supervise the training."

Goku scowled slightly, and then repeated the same steps from earlier. He unleashed his continuous torrent, but it was too strong and stable this time. It came out as one wave of Ki, and not a weak unstable turret. It raged onto a normal sized hill, obliterating the natural construct upon contact.

'… _Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a really long day?'_ He grumbled to himself, wiping the sweat off of his brow as he set himself to try it again. He wouldn't back down from the challenge of actually making it work, he'd be damned if he did.

 **-Another Hour Later-**

All three genin were exhausted after their individual training. They had spent every second working on the thing assigned to them or rather what they assigned to themselves. Shikamaru and Hinata were both suffering from chakra exhaustion while Goku experienced physical exhaustion from having to constantly launch his Ki into a repetitive attack, and he still didn't get it down. In addition, they were still worn down from the earlier training which was the warm-up from that day.

"You all look really exhausted," Yugao observed with a chuckle. Goku, Hinata and Shikamaru glared in response at their Sensei.

She then dropped the chuckle and gave them all a serious look. "I know I probably tired you all out a lot today more than usual and I admit it was a bit over-the-top, but I need you guys to get tougher for the future. I want to make sure that if something like our last C-Rank happens again soon, you all will have more of a fighting chance on your own without my help. So expect the next several sessions to be much rougher on you then before, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run."

The three genin of Team Eight stopped glaring at their sensei and gave her an understanding look. They all then nodded simultaneously with a fire being lit in their irises, even in Shikamaru's.

"I'll be a bit more lenient tomorrow, since I did go overboard, but the training will still be very difficult. I'm gonna do my part to make sure you three can survive in the harsh world of the shinobi; our last mission was a taste of what you might experience on a daily."

"We get it, it's no biggie. Bring it, I want you to make training as rigorous as possible!" Goku stated with a grin on his tired face.

"Good to hear!" Yugao stated with a smirk. "Anyway, I have some plans today, so no missions. You are all dismissed. Just take it easy for the rest of the day and relax, you've all earned it."

Yugao made a hand sign before using the **Shunshin** and disappearing, leaving her students alone.

"She just loves that **Shunshin** ," Goku muttered, wondering if he could teleport with Ki like some shinobi could with chakra.

"Goku, this is a former Anbu black-ops member, and knowing the **Shunshin** is mandatory. Are you just now realizing this?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Shaddup Lazy Ass!" Hinata snickered as she watched her friends argue. "Well, since we have the day off, I'm probably gonna go get something to eat. Wanna tag along for the ride?" Goku said as he started to walk off, both Shikamaru and Hinata nodding. The three members of the team were then off, heading to go get lunch for the day.

 **-With Team Seven-**

Haku was not having a good time, no first the raven-haired boy rages after she "killed" Naruto and nearly burns her to death. Then she was beaten by a suddenly healed Naruto and Sasuke, and promptly knocked out before she was about to save Zabuza. She had no idea what happened to Zabuza or if he was even alive. Not to mention she was a prisoner, who knows what they planned to do to her?

Then her heart sank. What if Zabuza was dead? What could she do without her master, she was never made to do anything herself. The only serious decision she ever made was to go with Zabuza and now that he was dead she had no purpose. _'Maybe I can just get them to kill me and get it over with...'_ She thought sadly.

Though, all this time alone in the room gave her plenty of time to think about things, which made her think. _'Do I need to die? I have freedom now, freedom to do as I wish. Can I really put that as a positive though? I've... never had complete freedom, I don't know what to do... '_ Haku thought, as her thoughts trailed back to the red-haired boy she met in the forest a few days before the battle on the bridge, and the Uchiha whom was responsible for her being taken out of the fight.

She sighed. What would Naruto think of her after she tried to kill him and his friend, the Uchiha? And she already knew that Sasuke probably hated her based on his emotions when she "killed" Naruto. Haku legitimately liked them because she could relate to them, they were the same, in a way.

Her musing were finally stopped when the entirety of Team Seven entered the room with various expressions. Kakashi seemed neutral, Sakura was a little fearful of the one who could defeat her teammates and Sasuke was frowning down upon her. However it was the redhead's expression which truly made her upset.

He looked betrayed, hurt by the fact that the one he spoke with so casually was actually someone who was planning to kill them. Though he couldn't help but think about the way his life was spared, despite everything. This brought a little hope to his clouded mind.

The silence was palpable, which Kakashi decided was enough and began to speak. "So, let's talk shall we?" His only response was Haku looking up at him and inclining her head slightly.

"Alright then, let's start with names. My name is Kakashi Hatake, and you are?" He spoke cheerfully, despite the fact that this was - for all intents and purposes - an interrogation.

"My name is Haku Yuki. I am the last of the Yuki clan." She spoke with little emotion, something Kakashi could easily connect to the fact that Zabuza was dead.

"Well I didn't ask about your clan status, but I'm pleased you're being so co-operative..." He said. "...now then, since your friend Zabuza is dead, what do you intend to do? We can't actually accuse you of anything other than assault since you are neither a missing-nin nor have you killed anyone." He continued in a serious voice.

"I... I don't know, Zabuza's goals were my life. I am little more than a broken tool..." She said sadly, looking crestfallen, with a few tears welling up at the confirmation on her masters death. Then she began to breakdown as quietly as possible. Team Seven gave her some time to calm down before continuing.

Well they would have, if Naruto wasn't there.

Naruto couldn't take the way she thought of herself and decided it was his time to get involved. "What do you mean just a tool? You're a kunoichi, a human being! If that's all that bastard thought of you as then there was no point of helping him!" He said with anger leaking out.

Haku hearing this let out a small laugh, though it was bitter rather than cheerful. "That may be, but what would you do if you had only one precious person? Would you do anything to help them, to get them to achieve their dreams? That was exactly what my goal was for Zabuza-sama." She replied, again almost emotionless.

Kakashi decided to butt in before Naruto threw a tantrum. "Alright, well that's good and all, but we still don't know if you are safe to release. So until the bridge is complete you will be our 'guest' so to speak. After that you can do as you please, since you clearly were just following orders." Kakashi spoke, knowing that everything said was true by examining the conversation with his **Sharingan**.

"If that is what must be done, so be it." Haku spoke with finality. Kakashi nodded at this, slightly glad the "boy" was so broken since it made his job here so much easier. He then untied Haku and allowed her to go and clean herself of all the filth accumulated during the fight.

After a while, she emerged and went downstairs. Tazuna, not realizing what went on between the "boy" and Team Seven had a silent heart attack thinking "he" was going to finish what Zabuza started, but was surprised when "he" silently sat down and did nothing. Oh and I mean nothing, "he" sat there near motionless. Like a statue. A creepy, mentally broken statue.

This was the sight Naruto and Sasuke arrived to after coming back from some rather "light" training, which consisted of both of them sparring with Taijutsu only on a constantly moving stream. Seeing Haku in this state made it easier for the redhead to approach the girl, since he too knew how loneliness felt. He sat down next to the girl and took a few moments to compose his thought, not wanted to get upset over potentially nothing. Sasuke grabbed a hot bento box that had plenty of tomatoes and onigri and sat down on a chair in the corner of the good sized room.

"So..." Naruto began. "...was any of it real?" He said softly, not really wanting the answer, but steeling himself for it when it came.

"Yes it was. I could see you, me, and the Uchiha were the same. I saw it in your eyes, the loneliness and the pain and it made me happy to see others who had shared those feelings, so I couldn't help but interact with you." Haku replied, and Naruto let out a genuine smile at this.

"That's a relief, I was afraid you were just lying to me or something. So what're you gonna do when we finish the bridge? You can't exactly just wander, it's not really safe to do that." Naruto replied, never losing his smile.

"I still don't know. I have never really made my own decisions Naruto. I have been following Zabuza-sama's orders to the letter my whole life since... since the incident," Haku said, flinching slightly at the last part. Bringing up her past was never the easiest thing for her. She had major family issues.

"Do you... want to talk about it?" Naruto replied nervously. He didn't exactly want to drive the boy away by bringing up a topic he didn't want to discuss, but his curiosity got the better of him. Haku thought about this for a second, weighing the options. _'I think I should talk about this, to finally let it go.'_ He thought.

"N...No. I've already told you and Sasuke-san about my story." She said, clearly apprehensive about doing so. "However, I left out what happened after...after I killed my father and everyone in the house."

"Tell us," Sasuke spoke up with a monotone voice, taking the words right out of Naruto's mouth. "We want to know everything."

"Okay then... I just went away, scrounging food wherever I could and just trying to stay alive. Then when I had sat down on a bridge one day a masked ninja came up to me. He offered me a place at his side, as a tool. That man was Zabuza-sama. From then on I simply did as he required and helped him however I could. I had a purpose. Then all of this happened, and now I have nobody again!" She finished, tears beginning to fall.

"It's all right Haku. If you want, we'll be your precious people, or at least I will. We'll be your friends, right Sasuke?" He replied soothingly. Haku could do little but widen her eyes when the Uchiha gave the most minute nod she had ever seen. _'I tried to kill both of them and the bridge builder. I tried to break their will within the mirrors. I did all that and... Naruto wants to be my friend?'_ She thought, frantically trying to make sense of this.

"What? You want to be my friend?" After a quick nod, she couldn't hold back her confusion. "Why?!" She all but screamed. "I've done nothing but try to kill your team since you got here! I attacked you and the Uchiha. I could have killed the both of you, allowed the death of your sensei and killed your other teammate!" She said vehemently.

"That's not true. Did Zabuza make you speak to me in the forest? Did Zabuza tell you to take non-lethal shots on me? That was all you Haku. You are a good person with a life full of suffering." She couldn't hold back the tears with these words, jumping at him and hugging him fiercely.

"Thank you!" She repeated like a mantra. Naruto was happy that she was comfortable enough around him and Sasuke to run her emotions like she was. Then again, the topic isn't exactly easy to speak about.

"You're welcome Haku-chan," He said unconsciously. Then both he and Haku realized what he said and she jumped back with a cute 'Eep!' and looked at him while covering her mouth.

"Wha..What did you say?" She spoke slightly nervous as she wasn't expecting such a term of affection. _'Wait a minute... that was the female term!'_ She exclaimed mentally. Did he know? Her eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal.

"Nevermind..." She said "...thank you again, Naruto-san." She finished somewhat nervously, not used to communicating with someone other than Zabuza.

 **-After the Bridge's Completion-**

The rest of the week went smoothly. The Team - along with Haku, who was surprisingly collected after Zabuza's death - guarded Tazuna and his remaining men while they constructed the bridge. It wasn't really like they needed to do so anymore, but it made the village feel safer having it's heroes overlooking them. They had no issue guarding the bridge since it was a constant reminder of the squads failure.

Naruto, Sasuke and the girl had gotten a little closer over the week due to the fact that Naruto and Sasuke trained their reaction times via Haku's quick senbon. Sakura actually trained hard as well and little else happened during the week. Haku and Naruto just chatted a little and got to know the other a little. The week did wonders to cure Haku's sadness over losing Zabuza, she was now aware what the man never offered her. She never felt wanted with him... but now she was beginning to understand how it felt again.

Now that the bridge was done Team Seven, Haku and the villagers were standing at its end. Team Seven was preparing to return to the Leaf Village and the villagers of the town were seeing them off. There was one other matter of business left however, and Kakashi felt it necessary to sort it out as quick as possible.

"So Haku, what do you intend to do now?" He spoke seriously, his tone commanding respect. Haku sighed, she was dreading this. Before she could speak however Naruto spoke with a loud and happy tone.

"She's coming to the Leaf with us of course!" He said. Squad Seven were surprised by this, but mostly by the word 'she' barring Sasuke. He'd neglected to mention that little development of course, and Kakashi coming out of his stupor decided to clear this up.

"What do you mean she's coming with us? More importantly, what do you mean by 'She'?" He said. Naruto blinked multiple times before realizing he hadn't said anything and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oops, forgot to mention that did I?" He said, earning nods from two of the three members of Team Seven. "And obviously I said she's coming with us because she is! Right Haku-chan?" He said. Looking at the newly discovered girl they could all tell she was in an internal struggle - except Naruto, being oblivious as he is - and all waited for HER answer.

"Well... I..." She said. _'What if they hate me for my **Kekkei Genkai** there? What if I'm treated like an outcast again?'_ Her thoughts raged on before she composed herself and continued. "Would they... hate me there?" She said meekly. Naruto was a little confused and decided to put his questions to rest.

"Why would they hate you? It isn't like your a... Oh." He said, remembering her childhood.

Hearing the pause, the brooding Uchiha decided to place his own input. "They wouldn't hate you Haku, Konoha _loves_ **Kekkei Genkai**. It would be the opposite of **Mizu no Kuni** , I promise." He said calmly, not needing to explain what happened to her to his team since Kakashi pieced it together immediately.

Haku still looked unsure but decided nothing could come from inaction. "Okay, I'll go to the Leaf Village with you," she said with a small smile.

 **-Near the Leaf Village-**

The travel from Wave to the Leaf Village was peaceful. Serene, even. It was mostly a silent trip, but not uncomfortable. Haku was thrilled and frightened at the same time at the prospect of living in the Leaf, Naruto was ecstatic about his new friend coming with them, Kakashi was enjoying his book, Sasuke was thinking about training and Sakura was thinking about how useless she was during the mission.

Near the Leaf Village, Haku decided to break the silence. "So what's the village like anyways?" She asked calmly.

"Oh it's a very lively village, not like the other great villages. It's always calm with a happy air around it. You'll probably love it." He said, but finished with another sentence in his mind. _'If the Sandaime lets you in that is. Oh who am I kidding, Naruto will vouch for youand the Sandaime is incapable of turning Naruto down.'_ He thought with a small chuckle.

 **-At the Hokage's Office-**

Upon arriving at the Hokage tower, Haku briefly studied the building before being pulled along by a grinning Uzumaki. Then they saw the Hokage's secretary who promptly ushered them in while going back to her duties.

They entered the room to see an elderly man with spiky white hair sitting at a long ornate wooden desk. This man was the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The man known as The Professor, or the **Shinobi no Kami**. He was battling an indomitable horde of a man's worst enemy. Oh yes, that's right.

He was dealing with...PAPERWORK.

"DAMNIT, it never stops growing!" He said with obvious frustration. Then he spotted Team Seven at his door along with someone he didn't recognize and immediately went into Hokage mode. He turned to Kakashi, who immediately straightened under the old man's wizened gaze.

"Report?" He said passively. Kakashi nodded and gave him his written report, hoping he could escape without a serious case of scolding. Alas he was too busy thinking about this and gave the Hokage plenty of time to skim through the important details before releasing a pretty hefty dosage of KI – or killing intent – on the masked Jonin.

"You took a rookie Genin team on what was essentially an A-ranked mission?!" He said angrily, attempting to make the Jonin shrink under the intensity of his anger. He quickly composed himself, finding a way to pass off the blame to three other people.

"They requested we continue on the mission Sandaime-sama," He spoke nonchalantly while receiving glares from the young Genin. The Hokage rolled his eyes at this, did the S-ranked Jonin really think that would work?

"Oh I wasn't aware these Genin were in charge of the team, Kakashi. Must be my mistake." He said sarcastically before sighing and continuing. "Well I suppose congratulations are in order for you three, an A-rank mission without dying at your age is rather remarkable." He said kindly, entering the grandfather figure mode.

"Hai, Hokage-sama./Thanks Jiji!" Said the Genin, two of whom then looked at a certain redhead incredulously.

"Well this will be recorded as an A-rank and you will be paid accordingly. Now is there anything else?" He said looking straight at Haku. She steeled her nerves and decided to speak up.

"Hai Hokage-sama. I would like to request to join the village as a shinobi of the Leaf," she said seriously. The Hokage raised an eyebrow at this. He did just read the report so he was aware of who the girl was, but he was expecting her to be a prisoner or something.

"Oh? Why should I allow this? Have you anything to offer the village?" He spoke, feigning ignorance of who she was. Haku nodded at this, she figured it would be better to be truthful.

"Hai. I am the last known individual with the Hyoton Kekkei Genkai. I am proficient with both my bloodline and Suiton ninjutsu. I have the bare minimum of knowledge regarding Futon ninjutsu in order to use my Kekkei Genkai. I have also received training from... Zabuza Momochi." She said, ending with her head down. This was the defining moment. If the man was as smart as they say he'd know where they found her and would make a decision now.

"I see." He said. "That is a very impressive skill set you have there. However, why should I allow you entry to the village after assisting the attempted murder of Team Seven and their client?" He spoke, not revealing what he was truly feeling, though he was very experienced so it came naturally.

Haku was feeling the pressure of the situation and was starting to falter. She was about to reply when a certain redhead decided to save her the trouble.

"Jiji she was just following Zabuza's orders. Without him she has no reason to do anything bad, not to mention it shows she can follow orders well if she did that without wanting to!" The redhead said defensively. Haku merely looked at him with a smile, he was so kind to her despite everything.

"She also spared mine and the dobe's life when she could have easily killed us," The Uchiha added, deciding to back up his red-haired rival on this matter. "That is what makes her a good person at heart." The brunette smiled sincerely at the Uchiha as well, the fact that even he would vouch for her despite the fact that he wanted to kill her a short while ago made her feel...accepted.

The Hokage, despite all his experience and self control, simply couldn't stop a smile from breaking out across his weary face. "Well I'll keep that in mind Naruto, Sasuke, but I'd like to hear it from Haku." He said. Honestly he'd already made his decision, but for appearances sake he'd wait until she answered.

So Haku decided to finish her argument. "I was indeed loyal to Zabuza-sama and honestly if he was still alive, I would still be your enemy. However, with him gone I have no grudge against you. In fact I am actually quite fond of this village thus far, and Team Seven has become some of my precious people," she spoke seriously.

Kakashi and the Sandaime picked up on the way she referred to Naruto and Sasuke along with the fact she openly admitted she thought they were precious to her. The Hatake thought this would be great teasing material in the future, while the Sandaime was happy that Naruto finally found a girl other than Hinata who appreciated him.

"All right then. If I allow you entry as a shinobi of Konoha then I have a few conditions. Do you have any issues with that?" He asked, getting a quick 'No' in response he continued. "Firstly, you will not be able to leave the village for a month." He said, and after seeing no argument he continued.

"Secondly, you will be joining Team 7 during their training sessions, but you will not be on their missions." He said, again seeing no argument. It was the opposite in fact, she seemed pleased.

"Lastly, you will be inducted as a Genin and must rise through the ranks like everyone else, understood?" He finished, getting a nod and nothing else. He then smiled and got onto a more cheery topic.

"Then from this day forward – you- Haku are a shinobi of Konoha!" He said, holding out a headband. Haku smiled and was thrilled that she wouldn't be sent away, Naruto was ecstatic that she could stay, Sasuke had a smirk on his face at the prospect of training with her, and the other two members of squad Seven looked pleased.

Hiruzen decided to wrap this up. "Now, if that is all I must request you all leave. Naruto, I will speak to you soon I'm sure." He said, and they all turned to leave.

"Haku!" The Sandaime called, to which she turned and walked back to the man. "I don't suppose you have somewhere to stay do you? I can't exactly have you sleeping outside now can I?" He said. She blinked. Where was she going to stay? Maybe they'd give her temporary housing.

"Um... No I don't." She said neutrally. The Sandaime sighed, arranging temporary housing was always a pain in the ass. The apartment complex owners would argue with him for ages to stop from having to give an apartment for free.

"I'll sort out the housing, come back in an hour or two Haku and I'm sure I'll have something for you." He said, and Haku nodded.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." She promptly responded, deciding to take her leave to go explore Konohagakure and gain familiarity with the place.

 **-Two Days Later-**

The majority of Team Seven besides Naruto was already at the training ground. Sasuke was first there, since he had no hobby other than walking and training, followed by Haku who knew the importance of punctuality and then Sakura. The group then saw a small red-haired blur in the distance and knew who it was. And then came a whistling tone from somewhere around the area.

The quartet of Genin turned around to see Kakashi standing atop a post. Naruto smiled up at him while Sakura was about to scream at him about his lateness...

Before realizing he wasn't late.

"K...Kak...Kakashi-sensei... your... your on time!" She said, shocked by the fact that he was capable of being on time even remotely.

"Yes, well I decided that we needed to be even more serious about your training, so here I am," He said, then he decided to continue.

"We are going to be doing physical conditioning and strength/speed training for now. It became clear to me in the Wave that you aren't all in shape to do your jobs as effectively as possible. Also, I will be evaluating your Taijutsu styles to see if you are using them correctly or if they aren't suited to you." He said, earning four nods.

"Haku, Sasuke, you two are the fastest so we will be working on your strength and Taijutsu." He said, earning nods once more.

"Naruto, you're only slightly slower than Haku and just as fast as Sasuke, but your Taijutsu's coordination and chakra control still require some fine tuning." He continued. "You must attune your whole body to the fight. You must be able to hit hard but also correct yourself quickly if you miss. I've noticed you just throw most of your weight into your blows and hope they connect, and if they don't you leave yourself wide open, even if it's for a second. We also need to work on your blocking, dodging and parrying." He said, as if reading from a textbook.

"Lastly Sakura. You need... just about everything," He said casually. The girl face faulted at this, but realized he wasn't wrong. She was no where near the standards that her fellow rookie teammates set for themselves. She just sighed in realization and nodded.

"Haku, Sasuke. You two will be wearing intense weights and sparring with one another to increase your familiarity with the increased weight on your body while also boosting your muscle mass." He said. Then he turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, you will also be wearing weights, but you will be doing laps of the clearing and then you will come to me so we can work on your Taijutsu and Chakra control." He said, and then he turned to the pink haired member of the team.

"Lastly, Sakura. You will be doing all these things. However you will be doing less of each and we'll work on rounding you out more before specializing you a bit more." He said calmly, earning a nod. "Your work will be heavily focused upon building your physical attributes which will in turn build your chakra reserves."

"Well then, let's get to it," He said with a serious edge to his voice. "Expect these next few months of training to be a hell that you have never experienced."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** To all of you motherfuckers saying I don't know anything about **DBZ** then you're **SADLY** mistaken. I know just about everything there is to know about **DB** all the way to **DBGT** to **DBS** and all of the movies, video games, and specials in between. I **KNOW** that Chakra and Ki aren't the same thing, and I **KNOW** that there isn't a **GENJUTSU** around that can affect Goku in the **SLIGHTEST**. In the first chapter of the damn story, **I SPECIFICALLY** stated that I wanted to balance the story out a little bit by giving extreme Genjutsu's a **CHANCE** against Goku. I know how strong Goku is, and I know he would utterly **RAPE** the Naruto-verse in an instant if he so desired. However, what kind of shitty story is that?! That's why I'm having Goku go through the trials and tribulations of being an already **OP** Genin, and have him climb the mountains to become that **UBER OP** Super Saiyan; basically transitioning him from an **OP** mortal amongst shinobi to virtually a **GOD** amongst Shinobi. Let's be real, we **ALL** know how much stronger Goku can become in a short amount of time with the right type of training, and I **ASSURE** you that he will gain a power boost sometime soon. And to **ALL** the flamers hiding behind guest reviews..._

 _ **Y'ALL** need to get a **FUCKING ACCOUNT** and quite hiding behind those **GUEST** reviews so I can set all the concerns straight you damn **BITCHES!**_


	17. Prelude To The Exams

_Chapter 17: Prelude to the Exams_

* * *

Sasuke's scarlet eyes flickered around, taking in all of the projectiles surrounding him. His feet crunched as he shifted; the ground was covered in a thick layer of long, sharp needles of ice. More were appearing, the floating tendrils coalescing rapidly until he could hardly see through them. With a sharp nod, he grit his teeth and crouched, and a moment later the spikes began to plunge towards him.

He moved with grace and was quickly lost in a cloud of frost, whirling with a kunai in each hand. Within the icy dust he twisted, pivoted, and deflected every shard that would otherwise have struck him. It was a blinding dance, one that had Sasuke lost in the shroud surrounding him. By the time the last of the icicles had flung themselves towards Sasuke the haze had begun to thin. After a moment he was visible again, kneeling on the bed of frost and breathing hard.

"One more time," Sasuke panted, rising shakily. "I was too sloppy that time."

"I can't, Sasuke-san," Haku breathed, leaning heavily against a tree nearby. The girl looked exhausted, although she was smiling and shaking her head. "I don't have enough chakra to do it again. Besides, that's your fourth time in a row without taking a hit."

Despite how tired she was, she looked pleased. "It's only been three days since I started going all out; I can't believe you're already able to keep up."

"Like Naruto always says," Sasuke sighed, smirking as he collapsed into the grass by Haku's tree, "I cheat. As much as I hate to say it, there's no way I'd be able to do it without my Sharingan active."

"Maybe," Haku admitted, still smiling, "But you _do_ have the Sharingan."

Sasuke shrugged, closing his eyes and allowing them to change back to normal. Haku watched him for a moment before tilting her head to the side curiously. "Do you three always train this hard?"

"Um...sure? The three of us usually do individual training and then we spar, and the training has always been rigorous. However, ever since we came back from Nami no Kuni it's been...different to say the least." Sasuke grew quiet for a time, dark eyes fluttering open to watch a few clouds passing by overhead. "It was our first time as a team in a life threatening situation; it turned out to be several of them, actually."

At that, Haku blanched slightly and looked away.

"I think we all realized afterwards that in order to ensure such events don't happen again, we'd have to get far stronger than we are currently."

"Each other? Not yourselves?" Haku asked, glancing back curiously.

Sasuke shrugged again, but said nothing. It had been a rhetorical question, really – Haku understood all too well what it meant to gain strength to protect another. She smiled faintly. "I envy you and your friends. To have such dedication and devotion to one another is truly wonderful. I am sorry that I–"

"We've been over this Haku," Sasuke cut in sharply with a sigh, though with no anger in his voice.

"All of us have spoken to you about it, and it's in the past. We're alive, and you're on our side now. That's all that matters." Haku looked away again, but nodded after a moment.

"And you can have friends like that too now," he continued, closing his eyes again. "Hell, you've got three already."

The female turned back towards him and blinked, tilting her head again. "Three what?" she asked blankly, as if Sasuke's words hadn't registered at all.

"Friends, Haku. We're your friends; Sakura, Naruto and I are. Why else would we be spending time together right now?"

Sometimes it was difficult speaking to the girl, who seemed to have little to no understanding of how normal relationships worked. It had taken them most of a week to convince her that they held no ill will towards her, and it still came up occasionally. Trying to explain how healthy, mutual friendships worked was turning out to be a daunting task.

 **-With Team Eight on a Later Date-**

Time fell into a pattern for the members of Team Eight. Days became weeks, weeks became a month, and that month turned into three months. Everyday they met up each morning for training, which had found itself much more difficult than it was prior to the mission to Taki no Kuni near Mirai Toshi, the city that was the base of operations for Capsule Corporation. Slowly but surely, the three Genin became accustomed to the new training method and encouraged Yugao to make it even more difficult, most notably Son Goku.

As the members of Team Eight improved from their extensive training, they improved in their mission taking skills. They took more missions now and went through them extremely quickly. They had been able to complete twenty-four D-Rank missions, nine C-Rank missions, and a borderline A-rank to S-rank mission: a record very impressive and rare for a rookie genin squad! However you could say its to be expected considering they have a Ki user, Dojutsu wielder, and a strategist with an IQ over 200 on their team. Not to mention the badass Kenjutsu user whom is a former-Anbu known as Yugao Uzuki.

Things became routine for the members of Team Eight to the point that no matter what any of them would say, all four members were secretly hoping for something to take them away from the consistently recurring activities. The Saiyan had grown increasingly bored of repeating the same things over and over and over again, having just about mastered his own new attack by now; the **Kame Sandan**. The recovery from the escort mission with Bulma had left him feeling far stronger than ever for a reason unknown to everyone on the planet including Goku himself, and it showed during his training sessions and missions. He outmatched his Sensei in terms of stamina, flat line speed, combat speed, durability and just about any physical attribute you can think of. Not to mention raw power, which he _greatly_ outclassed her and ninety-nine percent of all shinobi. She still had better instinct and reaction time than he did though, and that proved very costly in a life or death situation. Yet Goku felt he could do MORE, as if he was only scratching the surface of his full potential in terms of everything. That left Goku famished at all times, his hunger for improving himself and getting more and more powerful pushing him to do the extra mile at all times.

He wasn't the only one to have had improved, Hinata had also grown, far more than Goku did actually. She completed learning the **Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu** , learned the **Katon: Shi** and even picked up on the **Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu** afterwards, which was a jutsu that sent a stream of fire towards the opponent. And she increased her chakra reserves drastically due to training with Goku a lot on the off-days or during their down time in general, prompting her to be far more physically adept. So much so that she was faster than any of the rookie ten besides Goku himself, and the third fastest genin Konoha had overall. She even began somewhat on Iryo-ninjutsu or Medical ninjutsu, knowing just how reckless her Ki using compatriot could be with his body during a fight.

And the Nara improved too, which was a troublesome process if he said so himself. His Sensei worked with him on using his **Kagemane** techniques in Taijutsu, basically creating a ghetto **Kagemane** Taijutsu style. Of course that meant increasing in chakra reserves, which was the main focus during their training. It involved plenty of exhaustion, work, grit and pain to get it right, but Yugao would say she did a satisfactory job. He could now use the shadows during combat to trap his opponent for a split-second then attacking him without wasting too much precious chakra.

Yugao herself had also improved, going through the training she made up for her Genin with them as motivation. The team chemistry was the only other thing that had changed. They began to realize that they actually complemented each other well in a fight, with Goku being the battle tank/powerhouse, Hinata being the well-rounded one, and Shikamaru being the ingenious strategist.

Their secret hopes of doing something else were answered when a falcon flew into Konoha, carrying a scroll on its back.

 **-The Next Day-**

The three genin students stood in front of their sensei, panting but not heavily. The team had just went through another rough day of training and were now awaiting whatever orders Yugao would give them now.

"Shouldn't you all used to this by now?" Yugao chuckled. "We've been doing this for three months now."

"Used to it…kind of. Doesn't change that it's still gonna be physically exhausting," Shikamaru pointed out between breaths.

"Eh, whatever." Yugao shrugged. "Although, despite the fact that you guys shouldn't be so tired, I will say you all are making great progress. I can tell you guys are getting tougher. And by now, I can say that the jutsu's I've been working with each of you in your private sessions and the jutsu's we've been working on together have been mastered for the most part. You've all made noticeable progress, so good job."

Goku, Hinata, and Shikamaru gave their sensei a smile despite their somewhat rapid breathing.

"Training is finished for the day," Yugao informed them, a smirk on her face. "Besides, I have something I need to do today that's extremely important to your Shinobi careers and what lies ahead of it."

"What is it?" Hinata asked for her squad.

"Hmm…" Yugao put her finger to her lips.

"Just tell us!" Goku demanded, giving his sensei a rather anxious look.

"Sure, why not?" The former-Anbu Black Op shrugged. "Basically, the Chūnin Exams are coming up in a week or less. And as a Jonin instructor, I'm supposed to go to a meeting and say if I think you lot are ready to take it or not."

All three genin stared at their sensei in surprise and anticipation. "…And? Are you recommending us?" Goku asked the obvious question.

"Of course. In the end, the decision belongs to you guys, BUT I'll give you all the permission to take it because quite frankly, you all can objectively take it with ease," Yugao stated casually.

"Heh, you're right!" Goku said excitedly, his blood flowing at the thought of testing himself against the best of the best. "We'll definitely pass this thing and become Chunin, we'll make damn sure of it!"

Hinata smiled, both at her friends excitement and at her sensei's words.

"…Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled. Unlike his friends, he wasn't as excited about the exam due to all the work involved with it. "Don't most genin have at least a year of training before they take it? I don't think many rookies take the exam."

"Usually most don't take it the first time, but I know plenty of squads who took it fresh out of the academy," Yugao responded curtly. "Besides, a friend of mine proctored the exam the last time it was held in Konoha so I have an idea as to what it takes to get through the exam and I believe you guys are ready. If I didn't believe you weren't capable of this then wouldn't have even brought it to your attention in the first place. I'll be very surprised if you guys couldn't advance to the third stage of the exam."

The three genin members looked at their sensei with a bit of shock evident in their face. They were surprised at the amount of faith she placed in them to undergo the exams. "…If you say so," Shikamaru replied, a smirk now on his face. ' _Maybe this won't be that bad, besides we have Son Goku on our team_. _I've never met or heard of a Genin or Chunin with the amount of raw power he has, or even a Jonin quite frankly._ '

"We won't let you down Yugao-Sensei!" Goku exclaimed with a grin on his face, punching his left fist into his right palm. "Now go on and recommend us."

"I know you won't," Their sensei replied before making her favorite hand sign and disappearing in a poof of smoke.

A few seconds of silence then passed by Team Eight before Goku decided to speak up.

"Well, I'm off you guys. I'm probably gonna get some ramen then watch the new 'Wishing Sphere Z' movie called Resurrection Chilled afterwards. I guess I'll see you both tomorrow, chou." He said as he started to walk away from the training area.

"Goku, one second," Hinata spoke up. The boy turned back and faced Hinata. The girl was playing around with her hair and had the slightest blush on her face.

"Well..." The girl started, inhaling quickly and exhaling after the awkward short pause. "Well, can I tag along? We have the day off and I've wanted to see that movie for awhile since it released two days ago." She finished, wondering to herself why it took her awhile to ask that question.

She considered Goku to be her best-friend more so than anything else, so why was it so hard to ask for her to hangout with him all of a sudden? And why did she feel heat rise up to her cheeks, it was a rather weird sensation for her. She began to wonder if she began to develop a crush on him, but then she surmised that wasn't happening. They were just friends and would always be, right?

"Hmm? Sure, why not," Goku's eyes lit up at the question. Hinata's slight embarrassment turned to excitement as she gave her friend a sweet smile. "It's been a while since the three of us just hung out somewhere besides simply eating lunch, so I'm game!"

The kunoichi's excitement slightly waned for some reason, realizing quickly that Goku slightly misunderstood what she asked of him. Shikamaru, being the sharp minded Nara he was, noticed her disappointment and decided to chime in.

"I can't. Dad wanted me home as soon as possible today to do some clan stuff like Shogi tournaments and crap. Sorry, I know it's troublesome," The Nara heir shrugged. "Have a good time without me."

"Really? Damnit," Goku cursed before he turned back to Hinata with a smile. "Well, I guess it's just us. And I don't care if it's just us as long as you don't mind."

Hinata's excitement came back as she gave the teen a smile while she took the small band out of her hair, letting her hair flow loose from the ponytail it was in. "I don't mind either."

"Alright then, so where do you wanna go before the movies? I figured getting some ramen would be selfish on my part," The Saiyan pointed out.

"I want to show you the bakery I always go to. I don't think you've ever experienced it yet."

"Oh yeah, as long as it has food then it's fine with me. Let's get a move on," The teen stated. "Later Shikamaru."

"Of course it's fine for you Goku," Hinata stated, walking the opposite way with Goku in tow. "Bye Shikamaru!"

"Later." The boy replied while giving Hinata a look. ' _You're welcome, I see you're beginning to crush on Goku._ '

Goku and Hinata walked off on their own, with Hinata leading the way. Shikamaru watched the two for a few seconds before he walked away in his own direction, a smirk on his face.

' _Heh, Hinata is starting to really like him. Good for her._ ' Shikamaru noted.

 **-With Team Seven-**

Sakura watched as Naruto smirked while ducking under Sasuke's punch, lashing out with a spinning hook kick that nearly slammed into Sasuke's skull. The young Genin blocked the strike with his palm, which revealed the white bandages around Sasuke's hands, before raising his foot quickly in an attempt to kick Naruto in the chin. Naruto however avoided the blow by tilting his head backwards and shifting his weight, making him transfer almost naturally into a back-flip.

Naruto had definitely improved his Taijutsu over the course of the three months of training. However, that was not all of the improvements Naruto had made. He began to learn the art of Fuinjutsu along with Sakura, acquiring the knowledge of basic seals and most recently resistance seals, the very thing behind the Yondaime being so fast. He also learned four new jutsu after mastering the basics of wind Ninjutsu.

 **Futon: Shinkugyoku no Jutsu** , a jutsu where the user takes a deep breath and then exhales several small blasts of wind chakra in such a manner that they are dispersed over an expansive range, enough to make it difficult to avoid them entirely without taking any damage. Due to the properties of this technique, the expelled blasts are capable of piercing into and potentially through an opponent's flesh when they collide with it. He also learned the **Futon: Renkuudan** , a highly compressed air ball that originates from the users stomach and is released from its mouth. Depending on the user, the expelled air ball is mighty enough to hollow out the ground, and even level an entire forest. Because of the large quantity of chakra kneaded into it, it explodes the moment it reaches its target, dealing an enormous amount of damage, as well as levelling anything in its path. However, the next two jutsu were probably his favorite, mainly because they saved him money. They were the **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** and its counterpart, the kunai version or the **Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. Basically they created shadow clones of kunai or shuriken respectively which actually did legitimate damage to the opponent and multiply the number you threw in an instant. You could throw one shuriken or kunai and suddenly, after performing the jutsu, 100 lethal projectiles could be upon your opponent.

However, Naruto was obviously not the only one to have grown. Sasuke had become unusually adept with the basics of Raiton and was well on his way into Katon. He had learned new jutsu too, one Katon and two Raiton. **Raiton: Raikou Shunshin** , **Hachidori no Mure no Jutsu** which after activation the technique causes various sparks of lightning to appear in the air. Within moments they transform into humming birds, giving off a loud humming sound. The humming birds will then rush the opponent, and can spread out to hit multiple targets, creating between 5 and 10 birds. He also learned the **Katon: Karyūdan**. Kakashi even taught him a few Genjutsu to go along with the Sharingan, although all of them required eye-contact. And above all else, the Last Uchiha began to work on what would be his signature Jutsu in the future. After reviewing the juicy details behind the infamous **Raiton no Yoroi** and seeing what Son Goku can do with his Ki, he began looking into ways to not only channel Raiton throughout the cells of his body to provide an aura for himself but also outlet them the same way Goku can release a blast of Ki. Though this technique is nowhere _close_ to being perfected and battle applicable, the Uchiha's chakra reserves have increased drastically as a result. Though nowhere near Naruto's reserves, his reserves were far above any other genin in Konoha (barring Hinata due to her training with Goku). He also learned how to release the **Kaimon** gate if the situation absolutely called for it as a result of his intense physical training.

Sakura had probably improved the most out of them though. She had mastered water walking, fighting Naruto on the water for a full hour, and she didn't complain about getting hit once. She had mastered the basics of Suiton manipulation and learned three jutsu in the element, along with one new Doton jutsu. The three Suiton jutsu were **Suiton: Hahonryu** which created water in the user's hand that could fired off at high speeds, **Suiton:** **Suikusari no Jutsu** , and **Suiton:** **Mizu Tate no Jutsu**. The first and only Doton jutsu was **Doton: Doryūheki** , which was a defensive technique. Sakura had also improved her raw strength, taking to wearing weights on her ankles and wrists after seeing how fast Naruto and Sasuke had become. This change happened after Kakashi gave her a iryo ninjutsu book, and she found out what they preferred to use, senbon, instead of kunai and shuriken. She had taken to it like a fish in water, learning some basic medical Ninjutsu, and improving her accuracy so she could wield senbon effectively with plenty of help from Haku. Because of the nature of senbon, she had bought a book that gave her detailed explanation on human anatomy, along with more medical ninjutsu knowledge. The book apparently was written by none other than Tsunade Senju, one of the **Densetsu no Sannin** , and the leader in medical ninjutsu developments. Or at least she _was_. Sakura had also found a Taijutsu style that she rather liked in the library. It was meant to use combo strikes to key areas specific body parts and once the opponent was able to retaliate getting away before coming in again. It was developed by a medical ninja no less so it made her happy she was able to use it. The Taijutsu was called **Kaikaken**. She had also progressed quickly in Genjutsu with help from Sasuke and her Chakra reserves increased almost as much as Sasuke's had, growing to about a sixth of Sasuke's new reserves, which is still high for a genin fresh out of the academy.

Naruto frowned as Sasuke's dark orbs became crimson. ' _He was following me without using his Sharingan huh? Let's see if he can keep that up once I kick it up a notch_ ,' The blonde thought, still refusing to take off his Fuinjutsu-sealed weights.

Naruto shot forwards, going full speed, or the closest thing he could with his Resistance Seals still active. Sasuke smirked, his brain registering a right hook coming in before his opponent launched the attack. The prediction ability of the Sharingan was extremely scary. Naruto launched the right hook. However, Sasuke knew what to expect, ducking under the hook and launching a right hook with unnatural ease.

Rolling out of the way, he had no chance of avoiding the vicious Taijutsu combination Sasuke immediately unleashed upon him, something Sasuke dubbed the **Shishi Rendan**. At the end of his Taijutsu combination, Sasuke took a split second to channel Raiton chakra through his left fist.

Naruto's eyes widened, but he knew how to respond.

With whatever came naturally to him.

Naruto shifted his weight to the right, and allowed his body to fall that way spinning away from Sasuke's Raiton infused punch before launching a punch in retaliation. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized he had been played. So it seemed that even the Sharingan couldn't predict everything. Sasuke grabbed a kunai and jumped away, barely avoiding Naruto's punch. He was sure if Naruto took off his seals it would have connected.

Sasuke charged his kunai with Raiton and stood in anticipation for a moment before charging, appearing as a blur to Sakura. She frowned as she noticed it. Her eyes still couldn't keep up Sasuke's speed and she feared what would happen if she fought Naruto or Sasuke and forced them to use anything close to their full speed. She probably wouldn't even be able to see them move. Nonetheless Sasuke swung his kunai towards Naruto's neck as he grew closer, knowing he'd evade it. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he noticed this, ducking under the swipe before leaning his weight forwards and pushing off with his legs, shooting off like a rocket towards Sasuke.

The distance was too small for Sasuke to evade physically. Naruto's headbutt connected with Sasuke's gut, throwing the Uchiha back from the amount of force Naruto had put into it. Sasuke landed on his feet however, rubbing his stomach and groaning.

He frowned, placing his specialized kunai back in it's holster. Then he weaved through hand-seals, his face evidently showing focus. " **Raiton: Raimei**!" Electricity gathered in Sasuke's hands before he clapped them onto the ground, causing a massive burst of lightning.

Naruto's eyes narrowed before they widened as massive currents of electricity traveled through the ground, tearing it to shreds. Naruto growled, biting his finger before slamming his hand onto the ground. He was happy he kept the formula on his hand at all times, even if the effects were dangerous.

" **Fuinjutsu: Bakuhatsu Ishi**!" Naruto roared.

The seal glowed before a massive explosion shook the ground, making Naruto's hand tingle as it sent rocks flying into the air. The blonde frowned as he stood on one. Sure, he didn't have to keep a seal formula on his hand, in fact it was undoubtedly dangerous, however it had saved him in many spars. True, he could just make hand signs and then make it explode by signaling chakra to it, but that seemed like too much work in a split second. His way was so much easier. Just bite and go. Then again he did have to get better Chakra control to even use the exercise. He had to use some of his own chakra to protect his hand and even more chakra to make it work. Too much chakra and the explosion wouldn't be as large, but too little and he'd damage his hand. In all honesty, he still hadn't gotten the right amount yet, hence the tingle of pain.

As the smoke caused by the explosion cleared Naruto touched down, staring across the crater he had created to see Sasuke staring back at him. They both smirked. Neither of them had even begun to go all out yet as they wanted the other to make the first move. However, eventually one of them would force the other to go all out, which in turn would force them both to go all out.

Naruto and Sasuke were about to continue before Kakashi appeared, standing next to the crater. "That's enough. You two have shown me your progress and I must say both of you are excellent, already chunin-material if I'm honest. You two could individually defeat chunin-level combatants if you truly went all out. However, this isn't the time to go all out, this is the time to test each others limits. You DO have an exam tomorrow."

Sasuke frowned but relented and relaxed, still regulating small amounts of Raiton chakra throughout his body. It was a small chakra control exercise that would also help him, as some metaphorical old man would say, become one with lightning. By doing this for two of the last three months with Kakashi's guidance, Raiton had become very natural for him to channel and his body became attuned to it. However, it did cost him chakra, so his reserves had actually improved as well from doing this, as he did this at all times except when he slept.

"Speaking of exams, you guys all signed the forms right?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura nodded, handing hers to Kakashi. Naruto and Sasuke followed suit.

"Good. Be at the academy tomorrow at ten in the morning, room 304. The exams begin then. Dismissed."

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto frowned. "I wish he'd teach us that jutsu!"

 **-With The Saiyan and Hyuga-**

Goku and Hinata headed off to the bakery Hinata was talking about. It was a small, silver shop called Panya located near the entrance to the village. When they arrived, Goku ordered himself eight large cinnamon buns and sat down in a seat. He was unprepared for the sight he was about to see.

Hinata had gotten a little more than a dozen large cinnamon rolls. The Hyūga heiress sat down at her own chair and started to devour her sweets quickly.

"Damn Hinata! You really do have a thing for cinnamon rolls!" Goku exclaimed. He knew this was her favorite food and he had seen her eat one or two before, but he had never seen her eat this many this fast.

The girl stopped eating for a second as her face turned slightly red. In a second, though, the redness faded and a teasing smile appeared on the girl's face.

"True, but you're just as bad with pretty much everything when you're hungry." She informed him.

"That's different, you can't just eat a few bowls or plates of food and not continue!" The teen retorted.

"And you can't just eat a few cinnamon rolls, there is no difference," She replied.

A moment of silence passed before the two genin started to laugh.

Conversation carried on from there as the two discussed anything that came to mind: from their daily intense training sessions to things Goku planned to do later in his life to a few books that Hinata was reading to the Chunin exams to other trivial things. The two members of Team Eight talked freely with no limits and it was during this conversation that Goku truly noticed something.

"Hey Hinata, the softness in your tone is gone!" He stated.

"Huh?" The Hyuga heiress looked at him strangely.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, you stopped talking with that soft tone of yours," Goku elaborated. "Did something happen to you?"

"Hmm…" Hinata mumbled in thought, a smile appearing on her face. "Well I've gained a lot of self confidence during the past few months."

"I can tell, and it's making you even more attractive," Goku stated, flirting on purpose. "I've seen the way that guy with his dog and other guys look at you, and you're rather _exquisite_."

"Mhmm. And it's all thanks to a cute boy that's always pushing me to the limits," She told him, her eyes looking straight into his ebony irises.

"Really?" The Saiyan asked with curiosity and a minute hint of jealousy. "Who is this person?"

"It's you silly," Hinata replied with a pretty smile, lightly punching him on the arm. "Who else devotes so much time to helping me surpass my limits everyday?"

He then started to chuckle. "Uh, I dunno. Now I have another question for you Hinata."

Seeing Hinata look at him expectantly, the Saiyan proceeded. "Why?" The boy asked, now looking a bit confused. "Why have I had such an impact?"

"After you left all those years ago, it forced me to stop being timid. Then spending all that time we have with each other from the academy and in our team has just helped. Your determination and resolve is contagious," The Hyuga heiress said in an appreciative tone. "Your inspiration and willpower is admirable, and it makes me keep on pushing as well when times are hard, like in Taki no Kuni. I really owe it to you Goku, without you there's no way in hell I'd ever be able to make it this far. Even through the toughest of our training sessions, you've been there by my side the whole time and encouraged me to push beyond my limits even when I felt I had no energy left to expend."

"R-Really?" Goku asked. His cheeks were turned a bit pink. "Wow. I didn't know I was all that, I just believe in going 110% with everything that I do. Arigatou Hinata- _chan_!"

"Douitashimashite Goku- _kun_ ," Hinata responded with her own blush.

The two friends continued to talk from there, even after they finished their food. After another hour, they got up and walked out of the bakery. They then walked towards the movie theater, getting into it just in time with reserved seating for noble clans. Since Hinata was with him, Goku managed to get into the VIP slots for free, able to see the movie better than most. After enjoying it for two hours, they walked out of the theater and onto the streets of Konoha.

"We need to do stuff like this more often. That was fun!" Goku said, a sizable smile on his face.

"I agree!" Hinata replied, her smile even wider than her friends.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" The teen asked.

"Of course." Hinata replied. She then walked up and gave Goku a sincere hug, feeling his shredded body in the process. "See you tomorrow Goku-kun."

The hug surprised the Saiyan, but he quickly returned it, feeling his best friends very sizable bust. "See you tomorrow then, Hinata-chan."

The two genin laughed then walked their own way back home. Hinata had a smile on her face that showed no signs of disappearing, at least not anytime soon.

' _I just unintentionally went out on a date with Goku-kun, and he enjoyed it. Do I like him or something, because I feel attached to him for some reason...and I like that_ ,' Hinata said in her head. ' _But we're just best friends and we simply hung out. I don't like him like that and he doesn't like me in that sense either, right_?'

 **-With Yugao-**

Yugao was one of the first to arrive to the meeting room. She took a seat in the back and waited impatiently for it to start. Seconds turned to minutes. The room started to get filled. She was soon joined in the back by Sarutobi Asuma and, to everyone's surprise, an on-time Hatake Kakashi.

When the time finally came and everyone was here, the Sandaime Hokage decided to walk to the center of the room and speak.

"Alright, everyone, I think it's about time to start." Sarutobi said. "As well all know, it is time for this year's Chunin Exams."

All eyes focused on the Hokage. Each shinobi in the room were giving him their full attention.

Sarutobi began the meeting by discussing the nature of the Chunin Exams: something they all knew, but something he enjoyed reminding everyone about. Once he finished, he started to go into the true purpose.

"Now, are there any jonin senseis that believe that their genin squads are ready?" The Sandaime asked.

One by one, jonin stood and gave their recommendations. Yugao watched with only mild interest, the whole process being very repetitive and mundane. After about seven recommendations, a jōnin with bushy eyebrows and green spandex on stood up and gave the Hokage a thumbs up.

I, Maito Gai, recommend my wonderful students, Rock Lee, Hyūga Neji, and Tenten, for this year's exams to showcase the power of youth!" He proclaimed with a grin. His teeth seemingly shined after his words.

The whole room sighed.

' _Gai's an idiot, but his team must be pretty damn good if they survived him and his rigorous training_.' Yugao thought to herself as more sensei's were giving their recommendations. ' _I'm sure they'll be the ones to provide some competition for my students if no one else can._ '

After a few more recommendations, it was now the turn for the sensei's sitting in the back: the sensei's of the rookie nine.

"I, Uzuki Yugao, recommend Son Goku, Hyuga Hinata, and Nara Shikamaru for this year's exams," Yugao proclaimed with confidence.

' _W-What_?' Umino Iruka, one of the few chunin in the room, gasped. His attention was now focused on Yugao.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, recommend Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura for this year's exams." Kakashi stated right after her.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, recommend Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji for this year's exams." Asuma added.

"Interesting," Sarutobi said to himself with an amused smile. "Very well then. Then-"

"Hokage-Sama, I beg that you reconsider your decision to let these genin teams in!" Iruka spoke up.

All eyes turned to the academy instructor in the room.

"Teams Seven, Eight and Ten are still rookie genin and they've only just started their careers as shinobi. I suggest they wait a year to develop further as shinobi. By then they should be ready to take on the exam."

Hiruzen sighed. "While I understand your logic, it is not against any law or rules for rookies to participate in the exams. If their sensei's believe they are ready, then they shall be able to participate."

Iruka, in response to the Hokage's words, turned around to face the three sensei's of rookie genin once again. "Then I ask you three to reconsider your recommendations and give them more time to develop!"

"Relax Iruka," Yugao replied. "I wouldn't have recommended my squad if I wasn't confident they weren't ready, but they definitely are."

"They're kids though!" He retorted.

"I was younger than them when I earned my promotion," The former Anbu shrugged. "Besides, objectively speaking my team has the most powerful genin in Konoha since Itachi, and maybe even more than him."

"I was the same age of the youngest students in the academy when I passed the exams," Kakashi added nonchalantly.

"They aren't you! They aren't like any of you!" Iruka shouted. "Naruto's not, Sasuke's not, Shino's not, Goku's not; none of them are! People always die in these exams: you all should know that very well!"

Yugao noticed that Iruka's words were more filled with concern than anger. The former Anbu was about to respond and try to quell his worries and assuage his fears, but the Hatake spoke up first.

"Iruka, the second they passed the true genin exam, these 'kids' left your authority and are now under ours. Team Seven, Eight or Ten are not your teams, they are ours. If they're truly ready, then we would know it. Don't try to act as if you know better than us," The one-eyed shinobi spoke sharply.

Iruka's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He had no counter argument nor rebuttal.

"I think that's enough of that," Hiruzen spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.

The Hokage continued to discuss details of the exams to everyone. After he finished, he decided to tell everyone one the last bit of information.

"Before we end this, I would like you all to let your genin know to be on their best behavior. Shinobi from other villages have already started to arrive in Konoha," He told everyone.

With those words, the Hokage walked out of the meeting room. Everyone was dismissed.

 **-Later On That Day-**

Naruto smirked as Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon hid behind the fake sheet of paper that was similar to the gate. However, their feet and hair was showing. Once again, they had terrible disguises. The redhead was about to call them out before Sakura walked up.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said, surprised to see him here. "What's up?"

Naruto turned to Sakura. "Oh, I'm playing ninja with Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon."

Sakura blanched. ' _A ninja playing ninja? How childish._ '

"Speaking of which…" Naruto trailed off, appearing before the sheet the academy trio were hiding behind. He ripped off the sheet, smirking as he did so. "Found you."

Konohamaru smiled. "I would expect no less from my eternal rival."

Naruto's face grew stiff. ' _That's way to much like Gai-sensei for my liking now that I think about it._ '

Konohamaru then noticed Sakura who was watching them with an amused expression on her face, however it did have the hint of annoyance.

"Hey boss is she your…" Konohamaru trailed off, lifting his pinkie. Naruto's eyes widened before he noticed Sakura's eyes become hidden by her hair, and her hair begin to rise. Naruto shook his head before she could do anything.

"No, she isn't."

Sakura was about to yell when she heard this. That was…really mature of Naruto. She looked at him with a sad smile. She guessed the fact she wasn't his girlfriend was her fault. In retrospect she probably should have picked the guy who noticed her than the guy who didn't. She was too infatuated with Sasuke's dark and cool demeanor. At least she wasn't now. She had ceased being a fan-girl during the three month period after Nami no Kuni.

Sakura still had to punish the brat for thinking that though.

Sakura rushed towards Konohamaru whose eyes widened before he ran, followed by Moegi and Udon who too were not safe from Sakura's wrath. Only Naruto was, because he said she wasn't. However, that didn't mean he was going to not watch this hilarious event take place. He easily jogged behind them, making sure he wasn't too close, yet not too far away. It was rather simple considering the fact he was around four times faster than Sakura with his Restriction Seals on.

Konohamaru somehow managed to keep ahead of Sakura for a while, heading into one the more unused streets, although it was kept well before he ran into someone. Said person wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also wore a black hood which covered his head completely, and had cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead. He sported a triangular face-paint design. Sakura's eyes widened as Konohamaru slammed into the person, while holding Moegi and Udon back.

There was a beautiful girl behind him. She had teal eyes and blonde hair, which was gathered into four ponytails. She wore a single, light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders garment that extended halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. A fishnet was worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh. She wore a black forehead protector around her neck. A quick glance at the forehead protector showed they were both from Sunagakure.

The male picked Konohamaru up by the scarf, slowly strangling him.

"Hey brat what the hell is wrong with you!? You ran into me for no reason! How about you watch where you're going!"

The girl sighed. "Calm down Kankuro, we don't have time for this."

The presumed Kankuro turned and glared at the girl. "No way Temari, I'm gonna teach this brat a lesson."

Sakura put her hands up. "Please, it was an accident."

Kankuro rounded on her. "Shut up," he said, raising his fist to hit Konohamaru. Naruto decided to interfere. The redhead blurred past Sakura in a crimson flash, putting his hand on her shoulder as he did so.

"You should stop," Naruto said casually.

Temari's eyes scanned Naruto, smirking as she did so. ' _Konoha has some good looking shinobi_.' She thought, apparently thinking Naruto was cute.

Kankuro turned to Naruto, his eyes alight with annoyance. "Who the hell do you think you are? You're just some overgrown pipsqueak."

Naruto smirked. "A pipsqueak who will mop the floor with you, a gay person wearing make up."

Kankuro's eyes narrowed as he dropped Konohamaru who ran behind Naruto.

"Naruto-nii's gonna kick your ass!" The young boy yelled.

Kankuro growled, grabbing the large object covered in wrappings on his back. He shrugged it off, before slamming it on the ground. "Care to repeat that, brat…" Kankuro whispered dangerously.

Temari's eyes narrowed. "Kankuro, we _don't_ have time for this."

Kankuro smirked, as did Naruto. "Don't worry, this will only take a second."

Suddenly Naruto disappeared, reappearing behind Kankuro with a kunai to the teen's neck. Kankuro hadn't even seen him move. "You're right," Naruto said. "It will only take a second," he said, his voice dropping dangerously low. "Threaten him again."

Kankuro's and Temari's eyes widened. ' _No way, so fast. I didn't see him move at all._ ' Kankuro thought.

' _So fast. He's strong_ ,' Temari thought.

Two pebbles shot from a nearby tree, one hitting Kankuro and Naruto catching the other. They people gathered looked over to see Sasuke sitting on the tree, his customary scowl on along with his calm, cool demeanor.

"Get lost."

Temari smirked again, looking at Sasuke. ' _Konoha is filled with cuties_.'

Kankuro sighed as Naruto backed away, walking back over to Konohamaru and kneeling to get eye-level with the boy.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Konohamaru nodded. Naruto smiled. "Good, pay attention next time though, okay?"

Konohamaru nodded. "Will do Naruto-nii."

Naruto smiled, standing before he turned to Kankuro who was putting the object back on his back. "It's a good thing you didn't hit him, for your case. He is the Hokage's grandson."

Kankuro's eyes widened to unfathomable sizes. "W-W-What!?"

Temari sighed. "Good going Kankuro," she said sarcastically.

"You're a disgrace to our village," said a voice. Everyone turned to see a teen standing upside down on a tree. The teen was a little shorter than the average height of males his age. He had fair skin and short, spiky, red hair. He had pale, blue-green eyes. He had no distinctive pupils or eyebrows. He had two very notable traits in his appearance: firstly, the tanuki-like black eye rings, and the kanji for love that was on the left side of his forehead. He wore a full black body suit with a t-shirt-like sleeves. He wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. The gourd on his back was held up by the leather band. There was a black forehead protector over the band, marking him as a shinobi, specifically one from Suna.

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" He asked.

"I-I know, I-I mean, they challenged us, they started the whole thing really. See, here's what happened-" Kankuro tried to say.

"Shut up," the teen interupted. "Or I'll kill you."

Naruto and Sasuke tensed, the teen didn't seem to take notice or didn't care.

"Ah, right, I was totally out of line. I'm sorry Gaara, I was totally out of line," Kankuro stuttered.

"I'm sorry, for any trouble he caused," the blood haired teen said.

' _This guy's got an evil look in his eye. And I couldn't sense him. He's good._ ' Sasuke thought.

' _This guy…I don't like the feeling he gives off,_ ' Naruto thought.

Gaara turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke. ' _These two are people to watch out for. The redhead is fast, and the raven-haired one is skilled, I can see it in his posture_.'

As Sasuke stood the teen turned into sand. The Uchihas eyes widened before he hopped down to land next to Naruto. The sand flew towards Kankuro before solidifying back into the teen.

' _A **Shunshin** with sand,'_ Sakura thought, her eyes narrowing.

"Let's go," the teen said. "We didn't come here to play games."

"Alright sure, I get it." Kankuro said.

Sakura blanched. Couldn't this guy tell when to shut up? He was so much like Naruto it was creepy, only far worse. They began to walk away, but Sakura still had some questions for them.

"Hold on."

They kept walking.

"Hey!"

They stopped. "What?" Temari called.

Sakura smiled. "You three are here for the Chunin Exams aren't you? That's the only reason I would think you were here, as I doubt you're here for a mission or just because we're allies."

Temari smirked, turning, as did Gaara and Kankuro, although the smirks did not go on their faces. "We'll aren't you the perceptive one?" Temari mocked. "Yes, we're from Sunagakure, and we're here for the Chunin Exams, what of it?"

Sakura smiled, but Naruto answered Temari's question. "Just wondering who's asses we have to kick for our competition."

Temari smirked, as did Kankuro. Kankuro wanted payback against the redhead and the raven haired one, but Temari just wanted to see some interesting competitors. She had found them in this team. However, she also realized the threat they could pose. The redhead was already to fast for them to see, and the raven haired one just radiated skill, making them seem like a dangerous team. The only one who didn't seem dangerous was the kunoichi, although Temari knew better than to judge a book by its cover. In all honesty, the team as it was now could probably beat them, if it weren't for Gaara.

They turned, beginning to walk away before Sasuke stopped them this time. "Hey, you! Identify yourself."

They stopped, turning around. "You mean me?" Temari asked.

"No him, the guy with the gourd on his back."

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara. I'm curious about you too, what is your name?"

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

The air instantly tensed at that, and a gust of wind flew by.

" **So he's here. That could prove troublesome** ," Naruto heard in his mind.

' _What do you want fuzzball_?'

The Kyuubi growled. " **Shut the hell up**."

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before he zoned back in on the conversation. Gaara turned to him. "You. I would like to know your name as well."

"Uzumaki Naruto," the redhead said with a smirk.

The air tensed again, possibly even more.

" **Interesting…** ," thought a voice. Gaara raised a mental eyebrow.

They turned, using chakra to shoot themselves into the air as they hoped across the buildings.

Naruto and Sasuke smirked, thinking the same thing simultaneously.

' _Things are getting interesting_.'

' ** _More interesting than you know_** ,' Kurama thought before closing his eyes and taking a nap.

The team then turned, walking away. As they left, three forms could be seen on a tree.

One had bandages covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye uncovered. He also wore a large poncho with long sleeves, a snake patterned scarf around his neck, a straw raincoat protruding from the back of his scarf, and a large amplifier on his right arm. His back was hunched, which made him look smaller than he actually was.

Another had spiky, dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death down the front. His forehead protector had an attached happuri under the cloth rather than connected to the metal plate. He wore a snake patterned scarf around his neck.

The only female of the group had very long, black hair, almost reaching down to the treebranch, tied by a violet ribbon right near the end, and black eyes. She wore a forehead protector, a pale green vest somewhat similar to a flak jacket, and snake patterned pants and scarf.

Each had a headband with a musical note on it.

"Whatchya think Dosu?" Asked the one with spiky, dark hair.

"We might have to go out of our way for this one. I don't know how skilled the two girl were, but the Uchiha, Uzumaki, and desert brat, we should watch them…carefully."

 **-With The Saiyan-**

Goku had left the movie theatre in a great mood. Even though he had spent with Hinata before, this time it just _felt_ different. He had no clue as to why this time in particular made him so damn happy, but it did.

The Saiyan was in such a grand mood that he didn't pay attention as he walked back home, too busy thinking about Hinata. That led to the Saiyan bumping into someone: a boy that had war paint on, wearing a black full body suit with a hood and carrying on his back some object wrapped up in white bandages.

"Sorry about that," Goku muttered to the other guy before turning to go back on his way.

"You little shrimp! Watch where you're going!"

Goku's eyes narrowed. "Look, I already apologized, now leave me be."

The Kame style practitioner started to walk away once again, but the other guy strolled in front of him and blocked his path.

"Not gonna happen kid. Shrimps like you need to learn to give respect to their superiors!" He informed him, cracking his knuckles.

"Get out of the way, I'm not apologizing again. Just accept it and move on," Goku retorted, raising his hands in annoyance.

"Kankuro, don't make a scene!"

The two turned their heads in the direction Goku had come from. They both saw a girl wearing a white garment that went from her shoulders to her thighs. She had a scarlet sash around her waist and she wore fishnets over her shoulders and her legs. The girl also had a large fan attached to her back and wore a forehead protector for Sunagakure tied around her neck.

Goku then noticed that the guy in front of him, Kankuro, was wearing the same forehead protector, concluding that they were both Suna shinobi.

"I'm not starting anything Temari! I'm just giving this kid a life lesson." Kankuro informed her.

"Shut up, a guy like you who wears makeup couldn't possibly give me any life lessons." The Son rolled his eyes.

Kankuro turned back to the palm-tree haired boy, his eyes red with anger. He immediately moved a hand to the object on his back and started to unwrap it. Goku in response got into a casual fighting stance.

He then cleansed his mind and started to pay attention to the environment around him, ready for any possible attack. It was at this moment that he sensed the Ki of a third figure that hadn't made himself known.

"Just asking though, is that guy with you?" He asked the Suna shinobi, pointing to a nearby tree.

Kankuro and Temari took a look at the tree and were surprised at the sight. Standing underneath a branch on the tree was a boy wearing a black full body suit with a white sash over his shoulders and a gourd attached to his back.

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro gasped.

"Kankuro, you are an embarrassment to our village." The boy, Gaara, spoke in a monotone, cold voice. The makeup wearing shinobi was about to respond, but Gaara cut him off. "Shut up, or I will kill you."

Kankuro said nothing: only shivering in response.

Goku watched the scene with the sudden primal urge to kill the one producing such killing intent. ' _What the hell…this guy oozes killing intent!'_ He thought.

The boy with red hair disappeared in a spiral of sand and reappeared on the ground in front of Goku. Up close, the Saiyan noticed that the boy had the kanji for love written on his forehead.

"I apologize for my brother's stupidity," He told the extraterrestrial.

"It's fine, no worries." Goku replied, building up his Ki slightly in case the creepy sand guy tried anything. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara," The redhead stated. "I'm curious about your name as well."

"Mine?" The Saiyan questioned, then with a smirk a replied. "I'm Son Goku."

"Son Goku…" Gaara repeated the name. "I'm also curious as to how you were able to sense me. Very few shinobi are capable of doing so."

"I have better senses than your average shinobi," Goku shrugged, talking casually but not dropping his guard. "I meditate a lot and can sense the life energy or Chi of anything around me."

"Meditation…" Gaara seemed disappointed with the answer. He continued to stare at Goku until a small, sadistic grin appeared on his face. "I sense a deep well of power within you. You aren't like me but at the same time you are like me."

"…What the hell?" Goku gave him a strange look. _'What is he talking about?'_

"Are you participating in the Chūnin Exams?" Gaara asked.

"Of course I am," Goku replied. "What is it to you?"

"Oh nothing. I look forward to seeing you then." The redhead stated, his grin wider than before. He then turned away and started to walk. "Kankuro, Temari - we're leaving."

The other Suna shinobi nodded obediently before following him out of fear. Kankuro made sure to glare at the Saiyan before he and the other shinobi disappeared.

' _What's his problem?'_ Goku asked himself. ' _I may have to kick this guys ass soon._ '

The Saiyan continued to walk towards his apartment. Even when he arrived home, his mind replayed the events that he just witnessed.

' _That Gaara guy was my age so how does he have so much killing intent around him? And what did he mean we're different but the same? We're completely different people!'_

 **-The Day of the Exams-**

Team 7 were just hanging out on their usual meeting place, a bridge in the middle of the village. They had lunch and generally enjoyed themselves, things were much better since Sasuke stopped being – quick so much of – a hard ass.

Haku and Sasuke were talking while Sakura was watching Naruto practice his Fuuinjutsu with intrigue.

"I thought Kakashi-sensei was over his lateness issues but it appears as if it was wishful thinking..." Said Naruto with a sigh. Sakura just giggled a little and patted him on the shoulder before beginning to speak.

"I agree, he always has some lame excuse! However, it _is_ Chunin Exam week so he may have important business to run, after all he is a Jōnin. They don't always foresee what they need to do," the rosette said disarmingly. Naruto just smiled and shook his head.

"Why is it so hard to stay angry at people when you try to calm me down Sakura-chan?" He said, somewhat jokingly.

Sakura however just blushed a little and smiled. "Who knows, maybe I'm just a good influence on you Naruto."

Naruto just laughed and looked towards the sky.

Meanwhile with Sasuke and Haku...

"So, do you think you're ready Sasuke-san?" Haku asked while playing with her long straight hair, looking at the Last Uchiha.

"Of course Haku," Sasuke responded with the usual "to cool to show emotion" face. "With the training we did, I expect nothing less than being promoted by the end of it."

"You sure our training together is enough?" The kunoichi questioned, doubt creeping into her mind. Ever since Zabuza had been killed, Team 7 and mainly Sasuke filled that void for her. Because of this, she didn't want to disappoint one of her most precious people at anything she did, especially training.

"Have a little faith," Sasuke replied, looking into Haku's coal black eyes with his own. "Without you I admit I wouldn't have been so assured about this. But you've helped me achieve the second stage of my Sharingan and become much more proficient with it."

"Really?" The girl questioned with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "I've been that helpful?"

"Definitely, that was never in question Haku, you've done plenty for me since you came to the village, and I...I'm thankful for it. I'm glad I met you." He said almost casually, not used to saying such simple phrases like "thank you" or that he was "glad" for something.

Haku however was at a loss for words. She had no idea she had such an impact on the boy's life in just the 3 months she had known him, and she definitely wasn't aware he thought so highly of her in his own "Sasuke" way.

It made her heart soar to here those words from him and she couldn't help but hug him, "Arigatou Sasuke-kun."

The Uchiha, not used to displaying any sort of affection ever since _that_ happened, used his common sense and wrapped his arms around her as well; returning the hug.

"Yo." Came a lazy voice from above. The Genin turned to see their Sensei perched on one of the arches of the bridge.

"Hey Sensei, what's the excuse this time? I assume you have one?" Naruto said extremely bored. He'd waited long enough.

"I was going through last minute preparations for the Chuunin exams. I came to remind you guys that the exams will be taking place in room 301 today at the academy," He said.

"Wait, you three? Why isn't Haku taking the exam with us!" Sasuke nearly shouted, earning a look of surprise from Naruto, a jealous look directed at Haku from Sakura and an eye smile from Kakashi whom felt at ease knowing the biggest wildcard to abandon the village had formed another strong bond with Haku.

"Hokage-sama has already deemed her an easily Chunin level shinobi," He said. "After the exams regardless of what happens she will be promoted due to her time as a Hunter-Nin and other variables that I shall not discuss. Does that answer your question Sasuke?"

"I guess," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, "That still doesn't explain how Team 10 can get through with 4 people but we can't."

"It does Sasuke. Had Haku been allowed to participate it would've taken the competition and hardships out of the exam completely, something Hokage-sama said he could ill afford to have. Anymore questions?" Kakashi asked before pulling out the infamous Icha Icha volume 6, using a Shunshin to leave.

"Well, guess we better get right to it then... Sakura-chan, Sasuke, lets go." Naruto said, earning nods from the both of them.

However as Naruto and Sakura departed immediately, Haku caught Sasuke's attention by throwing a quick barrage of senbon at him. Using his sharpened reactions, Sasuke deflected those senbon with a kunai. Looking back at the approaching smirking girl who shot the needles at him, Sasuke felt a blush coming when deadly but gorgeous Haku walked over to him.

"Good luck Sasuke-kun," Haku whispered in his ear before swiftly and sweetly kissing him on both cheeks. Feeling warmth rise to his cheeks he quickly nodded at her before turning the other way and leaving the follow his team.

 **-With Team 7 Moments Later-**

With that they walked through the door. Naruto rolled his eyes and turned, to see Kakashi looking at them.

"You all came."

"Of course," Sakura said. "Who wouldn't? This is our chance."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "So, are you all ready? This is the last time I'll see you guys in a while."

They nodded.

Kakashi smiled. "Good. I've never been one for good motiavotional speeches so I'll just say these two things. You guys are the best Genin team I've ever trained, and good luck."

Naruto blanched. "We're the only genin team you've ever trained." Kakashi eye-smiled.

They just rolled their eyes before nodding, holding eye-contact with their sensei for a moment.

"Kick some fucking ass for me," Kakashi said.

They nodded and turned. "Will do."

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke as Naruto stood in front of the door, Sasuke and Sakura at his side.

"You guys ready?"

"Hell yeah."

"Let's kick some ASS!" They all roared at the same time they walked through the threshold.

 **-With The Saiyan-**

The genin of Team Eight walked up the academy: the location for the start of the Chunin Exams.

"You all ready?" Goku asked as he opened the doors. "Because I know I am!"

"As ready as we will ever be." Shikamaru answered. Hinata merely nodded in agreement.

The three friends walked inside and headed up the stairs towards the third floor. Hinata noticed a genjutsu on the second floor, so the three continued walking up another set of stairs and avoided the commotion on the second floor.

On the third floor, they found the room of the exam. They also noticed another person standing outside: their sensei.

"Yugao-Sensei? What are you doing here?" Hinata asked.

The sensei of Team Eight shrugged. "I'm here because the Sensei's are supposed to make sure you all showed up. I don't really know. I figured it was a waste of time, I knew you'd all show up."

"And I know you all don't need luck. I know you'll kick ass and I'm expecting you three to get promoted to chunin by the end of it." Their sensei stated, a smile on her face. "Now get in the room and show the world what you're capable of."

Yugao then used her **Shunshin** and disappeared in another poof of smoke.

"Well we heard her. Let's get in and just get this thing over with." Shikamaru spoke up with a lazily energetic tone. His two teammates nodded in agreement.

"Time to go whoop everyone's ass!" Goku declared as well, placing his arm on Hinatas shoulders and around her neck casually, causing Hinata to smile and shift a bit closer to the Saiyan while they walked, making both blush and smile at one another.

Smirking at their antics, Shikamaru proceeded to follow the "best friends that are becoming than best friends."

The genin of Team Eight walked. It was now time for the Chūnin Exams!


End file.
